I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, t 



r # ! 

J UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.* J 




CrATHBBEP tAMBS. 



GATHERED LAMBS. 

SHOWING 

HOW JESUS THE "GOOD SHEPHERD" LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US, AND 
HOW MANY LITTLE LAMBS HAVE BEEN GATHERED INTO HIS FOLD. 

REV. EDWARD PAYSON HAMMOND. 

AUTHOR OF 

M THE BETTER LIFE," " JESUS THE WAY," " JESUS 
AND THE LITTLE ONES," " SKETCHES OF PAL- 
ESTINE," "JESUS' LAMBS," " CHILD'S 
GUIDE TO HEAVEN," ETC 



7 




CINCINNATI: 

WESTERN TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY, 

No. 176 Elm Street. 

1870. 



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11 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S70, by the 

WESTEKN TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
Southern District of Ohio. 

STEREOTYPED AT THE FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY. 



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021^3 



DEDICATION. 

TO 

THE DEAR CHILDREN 

In this country and Great Britain. 

THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTION- 
ATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR, 
WITH THE PRAYER THAT IT MAY BE THE 
MEANS, IN THE HANDS OF GOD, OF GATHER- 
ING MANY STRAY LAMBS INTO THE FOLD OF CHRIST 
AND THAT IT MAY HELP MANY WHO NOW 
LOVE THE "GOOD SHEPHERD " TO FOL- 
LOW HIM CLOSELY AND TO OBEY 
ALL HIS COMMANDS. 



Vernon, Ct., Jan., 1870. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Flocks upon the Mountains in Scotland— " Ten thousand 
Sheep " — Jesus the " Good Shepherd : ' — Sheep divided from 
the Goats — Flocks of Sheep at Nazareth — Their names — 
Mountains in Switzerland — Lambs carried in the Shep- 
herd's arms — "The Lord is my Shepherd" — Mr. Gordon 
Furlong — McCheyne's Verses. 

CHAPTER II. 

Our visit to Jerusalem — Appearance of the City — Looking 
for the place where Jesus was Crucified — Little boy at 
Prayer — Praying not enough — Trust in Jesus — Children's 
Meetings in Mr. Spurgeon's — Letter from a boy in Lon- 
don — Child at Lockport, New York — Prayer — Hymn. 

CHAPTER III. 

Lambs on Castle Rock — Sandy, the Chief Shepherd — Climb- 
ing Ben Nevis — Lambs shut in — Shepherd trying to save 
them — Risks his Life — Foolish Sheep fleeing from him — 
The breaking rope — Part of the Lambs Saved — How 
Christ Died to save His sheep — His great Love for us — 
Children on the dark Mountains — Miner Dying to save 
his Son Lfltie Girl led to Christ — "How Jesus must 
have Loved me" — "I want to Work for Jesus" — "I Love 
Jesus; yes, I do" — A good Letter, full of mistakes — The 
" Golden Chain" in verse — Jesus wants to Save you — 
Child's Prayer— Christ's Love toward children. 

M 



VI CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Pet Lamb "Snowy" Stolen — The Search — Snowy 
'"Redeemed'' 1 — Grateful Children — Christ has Redeemed us — 
His great Sufferings — Do you love Him? — He Calls you — 
Many children heed His voice — Rosa's Letter — Meetings at 
Leamington— "Little Ones in the Fold" — Katie in Chelms- 
ford, England — Three Little Sisters — I must tell you how 
happy I feel — "Thirteen years old, without my Savior" — 
Seven Thousand at a Children's Meeting — Mr. J. Sands — 
"Jesus is Mine'' — "A New Heart" — Kissing the Stones in 
Jerusalem — "The Bleeding Lamb." 



CHAPTER V. 

Our visit to Jerusalem — Gethsemane — Calvary — Rules in 
School — Prisons — All Sinners — Christ died for us — The 
Story of his life and death — Our visit to the places where 
He lived — His great sufferings — "Why forsaken" — He 
will save you now — Letters from happy children — ■ 
Poetry — "Jesus on the Cross." 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Story for little Christians, to help them to keep "Look- 
ing to Jesus" — "The meetings feed me" — Journey 
through the Forest — Flock of Ducks — Our Shipwreck — 
"Looking only to Jesus, the Crucified One" — Discour- 
aged—Do n't give up — Jesus will receive you back — Re- 
sist the Devil — " Sometimes Satan will tempt me " — Boys 
Letters — Closing Lines — Jesus is our Shepherd. 



GATHERED LAMBS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Flocks upon the Mountains in Scotland— " Ten thousand 
Sheep " — Jesus the " Good Shepherd " — Sheep divided from 
the Goats — Flocks of Sheep at Nazareth — Their names-^ 
Mountains in Switzerland — Lambs carried in the Shep- 
herd's arms — " The Lord is my Shepherd " — Mr. Gordon 
Furlong— McCheyne's Verses. 

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather the 
lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall 
gently lead those that are with young."— Isaiah xl : 11. 



AVE you, my dear little friend, ever 
lived among shepherds who do 
*&* nothing but take care of their 

sheep and lambs ? 
If not, it may be I can tell you some- 
thing about the way they look after their 
flocks that will interest you. 

(?) 




8 GATHERED LAMBS. 

In mountainous regions in Scotland and 
other countries, you will often see no ani- 
mals but sheep whichever way you look. 
And if you wander off on those mountains 
you will find that the large flocks of sheep 
have shepherds who take care of them all 
the time. 

Last summer we spent two weeks away 
in the Highlands of Scotland at the foot 
of that high mountain — Ben Nevis. It is 
so high that the snow never all melts off 
the top and sides of it. As we used to 
climb up the steep sides of Ben Nevis, 
we often came to deep ravines where the 
snow was many feet deep. 

The gentleman whom we were visiting 
owned a farm of no less size than twenty- 
five thousand acres. And how many 
sheep and lambs do you think he had? 
"Ten hundred," do I hear you say? 



TEN THOUSAND SHEEP. 9 

Well, that would be a great many. But 
he had more than that. He had ten 
thousand. He had to employ a great 
many men to take care of so many sheep. 
As you may suppose there was a great 
deal of talk in that family about sheep 
and lambs. 

One morning I got a letter from the 
gentleman who published my books in 
London. And as I read it I turned to 
my wife, and said: "Six thousand of 'Je- 
sus' Lambs'* have been sold" 

All in the room looked up, wondering 
what I could mean. All had heard about 
Mr. Wallace's lambs being sold, but who 
had ever heard before of "Jesus' lambs" 
being sold? They did not know that that 
was the name of one of my little books 
for children. 

I used to love to follow Mr. Wallace's 



10 GATHERED LAMBS. 

shepherds away up the sides of the steep 
mountain and see them, with their dogs, 
bring down and gather the lambs into the 
fold. 

The shepherds had often risked their 
own lives in trying to save the sheep and 
lambs that had got into dangerous places 
where tliey could not get out. 

I may tell you an interesting story in 
another chapter about how Sandy, one of 
these shepherds, nearly lost his life while 
he saved the lives of a good many lambs, 
and thus gathered them into the fold. 
And I shall try and tell you how it was 
that Jesus, our "Good Shepherd," laid 
down his life for us. His words, you 
know, are: "I am the Good Shepherd; 

I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR THE SHEEP." 

(John x : 14, 15.) 

Do you feel, my dear little friend, that 



COMFORTING WORDS. 11 

Jesus has "gathered" you as one of his 
precious lambs in his bosom, and that he 
is now carrying you in his loving arms? 
Do I hear you say, " I fear I have never 
come to Jesus when he has called to me? 
He has been willing to make me one of 
his 'gathered lambs,' but I have only 
fled away from his open arms, and now I 
feel I am lost on the cold, dark mountains 
of sin." 

If this is the way you feel, then I have 
some comforting words for you from the 
Word of God. We will find them in 
Luke, the nineteenth chapter and tenth 
verse: "For the Son of man is come to 

SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS 
LOST." 

I feel very anxious that you should come 
to him before it is forever too late. You 
know there is a separation day coming. 



12 GATHERED LAMBS. 

"When the Son of man shall come in 
his glory, and all the holy angels with 
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of 
his glory: 

"And before him shall be gathered all 
nations : and he shall separate them one 
from another, as a shepherd divideth Ms 
sheep from the goats: 

"And he shall set the sheep on his right 
hand, but the goats on the left. 
.- "Then shall the King say unto them 
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you from the foundation of the world." 

When we were in Palestine, we spent 
four days in Nazareth, the very place 
where Jesus lived for thirty years. 

One evening I saw a large flock of sheep 
following their shepherd. He knew them 
all by name, for every sheep and lamb had 



SHEEP AT NAZAEETH. 13 

its own name. It would not come if called 
by- any other name than its own. /could 
not tell one sheep from another, but the 
shepherd knew all his own sheep as well 
as a mother knows all her children. 

I then thought of how Jesus had seen 
just such flocks of sheep and lambs on 
those very hillsides eighteen hundred 
years ago. As I watched that shepherd 
in Nazareth, it seemed as if I could 
almost hear our Savior saying, in those 
very words he spoke so long ago: " The 
sheep hear the shepherd's voice, and he 
calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth 
them out. He goeth before them, and the 
sheep follow him ; for they know his voice : 
and a stranger will they not follow, but will 
flee from him; for thev know not the voice 
of strangers." Yes, and it seemed also 
that I could again hear him saying: "I 



14 GATHEEED LAMBS, 

AM THE GOOD SHEPHEED ; I LAY DO WIS" 
MY LIFE FOE THE SHEEP." 

On the mountains of Switzerland I have 
often loved to watch the shepherds with 
their large flocks of sheep and lambs. It 
is very amusing to see the lambs when 
strong and full of life, frisking and jump- 
ing about. But w r hen the pasture gets 
poor on one side of the mountains the 
shepherds then have to get their flocks to 
some place where the grass is green and 
fresh. At such times you may often see 
some little lambs that are not so strong as 
the rest. The cold often chills them, and 
they can not w r alk; and then the shepherds 
take the weakest lambs and carry them in 
their warm bosoms. They do not smother 
them, but leave their heads out, so that 
they can breathe easily. But none of those 
shepherds love their lambs half as much 



YOU AEE IN DANGEK. 15 

as Jesus loves the lambs in his flock — his 
"gatheked lambs." 

Do you belong to Christ's flock, my little 
friends ? If not I should think you would 
want to come to him at once, and ask him 
to receive you into his fold ; for it is a very 
safe place. Those sheep and lambs that I 
saw in Nazareth were on their way to the 
"sheep fold." If they had stayed on those 
hillsides that night I have no doubt but 
some of them would have been killed by 
the wild beasts that were prowling about; 
for only half an hour before we saw what 
we thought was a wolf or jackal. 

Just so, my dear little one, it is very 
dangerous for you not to follow Jesus. 
He is the only one that can lead you safely 
home to heaven. If you will but come 
and trust in him who died on the cross for 
us, you can then truthfully say, in the words 



16 GATHERED LAMBS. 

of the 23d Psalm, which so many children 
learn: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall 
not want. He maketh me to lie down in 
green pastures ; he leadeth me beside the 
still waters. He restoreth my soul ; he 
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness 
for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death 
I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; 
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 
"When you can say, " The Lord is my 
shepherd," that is a sign that God has for- 
given } r ou your sins, and made you his own 
dear child. My friend, Gordon Furlong, 
Esq., once sat in a church in London beside 
a lady whom he had never seen before. 
When the minister read the Scriptures, 
Mr. Furlong took his Bible from his pocket, 
and looked over as the 23d Psalm was 
read: at the same time he took out his 



GORDON FURLONG. 17 

pencil, and drew a line under the little 
word "my;" so that it read, "The Lord is 
my shepherd; I shall not want." Often 
during the service the lady wondered why 
the stranger had made that black mark 
under the word my. She could not help 
noticing this ; for she had been looking 
over with Mr. Furlong as the chapter was 
read. When the service was over the 
lady's curiosity was so much awakened 
that she could not help saying, "Excuse 
me, but I wish to ask why you drew your 
pencil under that little word my in the first 
verse of the chapter that was read?" 
u O," said he, "I felt the Lord was my 
shepherd; and I wondered if he was yours, 
too." The lady could not forget that 
answer: and she had no peace till she 
came as a poor lost sinner to Jesus, and 
asked him to forgive her and receive her 



18 GATHERED LAMBS. 

into his fold; and then she too could say 
with joyful heart: "The Lord is my shep- 
herd; I shall not want. He maketh me to 
lie down in green pastures. He leadeth 
me beside the still waters." 

Now, my dear child, if you can not say 
"The Lord is my shepherd," then it is 
because you have not come to him and 
asked him to receive you into his flock. 
His words to you are, " Come unto me, 

AXD I WILL GIVE YOU BEST." Yes, he 

loves to have little children come to him. 
His tender words you have often heard : 
"Suffer little children to come unto me, and 
forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom 
of Heaven.''' 

When I was in Scotland I was very 
anxious to see the church where that holy 
man, Robert McCheyne, used to preach to 
children. During his short life he saw 



POETRY. 19 

many little ones coming to the arms of 
the Good Shepherd. I have found in the 
Children's Friend some verses of his, which 
I think will interest you : 

THE CHILD COMING TO JESUS. 

" Suffer me to come to Jesus, 
Mother, dear, forbid me not; 
By His blood from hell he frees us, 
Makes us fair without a spot. 

11 Suffer me, my worthy father, 
At His pierced feet to fall; 
"Why forbid me ? help me, rather, 
Jesus is my all in all. 

11 Suffer me to run unto Him ; 
Gentle sisters, come with me ; 
Oh, that all I love but knew Him, 
Then my home a heaven would be. 

11 Loving playmates, gay and smiling, 
Bid me not forsake the cross ; 
Hard to bear is your reviling, 
Yet for Jesus all is dross. 



20 GATHERED LAMBS. 

" Yes, though all the world have chid me, 
Father, mother, sister, friend, 
Jesus never will forbid me ; 
Jesus loves me to the end. 

Gentle Shepherd, on Thy shoulder 
Carry me, a sinful lamb ; 

Give me faith, and make me bolder, 
Till with Thee in heaven I am." 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PLACE WHERE JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED. 

Our visit to Jerusalem — First appearance of the City — - 
Looking for the place where He was Crucified — Little boy 
at Prayer — Praying not enough — Jesus Found at home — 
Children's Meetings in Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle — Many 
Boys in tears — Letter from a boy in London. 

" The place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city.' — 
John xix: 20. 

JNT this chapter I want to tell you a 
little of how much the Good Shep- 
herd had to suffer for the lambs of 
his flock before he could gather them into 
his fold. 

When I was a child, I used to think I 
should very much like to see the place 
where Jesus was crucified. And after I 
learned to trust in the dear Savior, and to 

(21) 




22 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

* 

love him, I felt a much stronger desire to 
see the city in which he suffered on the 
cross. And so, on the 28th of July, 1866, 
mv wife and I left New York for Jerusa- 
lem. After four months' traveling through 
many different countries, we, on the first 
day of December, looked upon that city 
which so many call " the Holy." We stood 
with our hats off; and I think, at least in 
my eyes, there were some tears. These 
were the words that came to my lips, " That 
ivas where Jesus died on the cross that I might 
be saved" 

It was as warm as summer is in the 
United States ; and the city, with its tall 
minarets and lofty domes, really looked 
beautiful in the clear sunlight; but this 
did not satisfy us. So away we hastened 
to our hotel ; and, as soon as possible, we 
were on our way to the place where very 



CALVARY. 23 

many believe our Lord was nailed to the 
cross. 

Hundreds of years ago a church was 
built over the spot ; and it is also supposed 
to cover the tomb in which the body of 
Christ was buried. 

From the sepulcher we went up some 
high steps at one end of the church, where, 
we were told, was "the place where he ivas 
crucified." As we drew near it, I noticed 
a little boy, not more than six years of age, 
upon his knees, with clasped hands, pray- 
ing. I think the little fellow had been 
brought all the way from Italy to Jerusa- 
lem, that he might see the place where 
Jesus "was wounded for our transgres- 
sions." A gentleman, probably his father, 
was with him. I wished very much that 
I could have spoken his language, so that 
I might have told him that, because Jesus 



24 GATHERED LAMBS. 

died for us on Calvary, Grod is now ready 
to forgive us all our sins. I longed to 
know if he was one of Jesus' " gathered 
lambs." 

Some people are so foolish and ignorant 
as to think that, if they go to Jerusalem, 
and especially if they bathe in the Jordan, 
where Jesus was baptized, they are sure of 
reaching heaven at last. What a sad mis- 
take ! I wondered if that dear boy made 
that mistake. I wanted to say to him that 
he could never get to heaven unless he 
really trusted in Jesus with all his heart. I 
was sorry I could not tell him that saying 
many prayers would never save him ; but 
that he must, as a lost sinner, come to 
Christ and believe in him who, if not 
exactly in that very spot, at least not very 
far from there, was nailed to a cruel cross, 
that he might be forgiven. 



MEETING AT ME. SPUEGEOX's. 25 

Now, my dear little friend, have you 
sometimes thought that, if you could only 
go to Jerusalem, and see" the place where 
Jesus suffered so much, you would become 
a Christian? Ah, you need not go to that 
far-off city to find Jesus as your Savior. 
Thousands of children, who never saw 
Jerusalem, have learned to trust in the 
Savior, and are now happy Christians. 

When I was holding meetings in Mr. 
Spurgeon's great tabernacle in London 
last year, I saw many little children 
weeping to think they had never loved 
the dear Redeemer, who gave his life to 
purchase our pardon ; and when they were 
told how ready God w r as to forgive them 
for Christ's sake, they went and told him 
they were sorry for their sins, and asked 
him to forgive them for Jesus' sake, and 
to give them new hearts. God answered 



26 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

their prayers ; and I am glad to hear 
from very many of these children that 
they are now showing by their changed 
lives that they really did give themselves 
to Christ, and that they are now his own 
happy children. 

In a boys' school in London, one day 
I saw more than fifty boys weeping for 
their sins. They had been hearing about 
the dreadful sufferings of Jesus on the 
cross for us ; and they felt very sorry at 
the thought that it was their sins that 
helped to nail him there: and to think 
that they had never loved him made the 
tears flow down their cheeks. Then we 
told them that tears would not wash their 
sins away, but that Jesus was ready to 
forgive them ; and that, if they would 
come at once to him, he would forgive 
them and fit them for heaven. Then we 



boy's letter. 27 

all prayed together; and most of those 
dear boys, at that very time, while we 
were praying, thought they gave them- 
selves up to Christ. 

I will let you read a letter from one of 
these boys, who is eleven years of age. 
It may help you, my little friend, to see 
the way to come to the dear Savior. You 
will find it is not necessary to go to Jeru- 
salem to seek him. 

"July 18^, 1867. 

"Dear Mr. Hammond: — When I came 
to your meeting on Tuesday, I was giddy 
and thoughtless, and only came to hear 
the anecdotes ; but I was aroused, and 
saw my error; and when I went home, I 
knelt down and prayed to Grod to forgive 
me ; and after that I felt very happy, and 
ever since that I have felt changed in 



28 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

mind. And now I can say, with all my 
heart : 

"' Praise the lord; He's pardoned me! 
From my load of sin I 'm free : 
Now my Savior I can see; 
Praise the Lord ! ' 

"I now close this short note. With 
kind love, I remain, yours, 

"A sinner saved, 



I wrote to this boy a few days ago ; for 
I did not wish to make use of his letter 
unless I felt quite sure that he was hold- 
ing out as a Christian. As I sent my 
love to all the boys, they wrote me a let- 
ter, which was signed by thirty-four. I 
will let you read a part of it: 

"September 10th, 1867. 
"Deak Sie: — We were very pleased 
in receiving a letter from you this morn- 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 29 

ing. We have been expecting to hear 
from you for some time ; and, having seen 
no tidings of you in The Revival, nor 
hearing of you from any one, your letter 
quite refreshed us, and gave us some 
encouragement. 

"We have had an early meeting at six 
o'clock every morning ever since you left 
us. It extends to about half an hour. 
We read in the Bible and pray, and sing 
some of your sweet hymns : that makes 
us happy ; and then we are strong in 
Jesus for the day's work. We pray for 
you almost or quite every day, that a 
blessing may come out of your labors, 
and that many may be brought out of 
darkness into the precious vineyard of 
Christ. So, according to your letter, our 
prayers have been answered. 

" Rev. Mr. D joined our morning 



30 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

meeting on Sunday last at seven o'clock, 
and gave us some words of advice. We 
still have our meetings at night, and sing 
and pray to the praise and glory of God. 
We often think of you, and were very 
anxious before we received a letter from 
you. We are now going to have a meet- 
ing in the school-room, so that the day- 
boys can join. 

"Pray for us, that we may not enter 
into temptation, and that we may hold 
fast to that blessed Savior; and, also, that 
we may all meet in heaven, praising him 
who died to save us from everlasting fire. 
And with Christian love to Mrs. Ham- 
mond and yourself, we remain, 
"Yours in Christ." 

(Signed by Thiety-four.) 

Last winter, when I was holding some 
meetings in Lockport, New York, a lady 



LITTLE BOY'S LETTEE. 31 

handed me the following letter about her 
little boy. Read it, and see if you do n't 
think this little fellow of only Jive sum- 
mers, is one of Jesus' " gathered lambs." 
I think his own mother ought to be as good 
a judge as any one, especially as she signs 
herself " One who has been a boarder, but 
is now a worker" She meant that before 
those meetings she had been like a boarder 
in the Lord's family, and had not tried to 
work for him like a child for the father he 
loves. But here is the letter : 

"Lockport, April 3d, 1859. 
" Dear Mr. Hammond : — My little boy, 
only five years old, thinks he has been con- 
verted by the means of your blessed meet- 
ings. He can not feel satisfied without I 
write you a little letter for him ; so I 
thought I would tell of a few of the evi- 



32 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

dences he gives of a change of heart and 
purpose. 

" Last week he would ask me frequently 
if I thought he was converted. I told him 
if he loved Jesus best of all, he might 
think he was his child. He answered 
readily, 'Mamma, I do love Jesus very 
much, better than any one else.' He sings 
nearly all the time some of your beautiful 
hymns. He said to me yesterday, 'Mam- 
ma, if I should stop praying I should go 
back, back, until I stepped into the fire.' 

"On returning from meeting this morn- 
ing, he said to me: 'Mamma, I was very 
naughty while you were away. I was 
angry with my little brother; I prayed 
Jesus to forgive me, and I '11 try to be 
good now.' I asked him who tempted 
him to do wrong. He said : ' Satan ; ho 
loved me when I did wrong, but I do n't 



child's prayer. 33 

want Mm to love me. / love Jesus ; and 
if I pray to him a great deal, he will 
make me good.' 

" Pray for me, that I may be enabled 
to guide his feet in the path of holiness. 

" One who has been a boarder, but is 
now trying to be a worker. 



Now, my dear young friend, would not 
you like to be a Christian ? You can be ; 
you have only to kneel down and pray to 
God for Christ's sake to forgive you all 
your sins. It was for just such lost sin- 
ners as you that Jesus died. 0, how kind 
he was, to bear such dreadful sufferings 
that we might be saved ! Try and offer 
this little prayer from the heart : 

" God, show me that Jesus, the Good 
Shepherd, is very near me now, and that 
3 



34 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

he is willing to love me; and teach me 
how he suffered that I might be forgiven 
my many sins and be found at last in his 
fold. 

"Holy Spirit, help me to see Jesus as 
my Savior: and 0, dear Jesus, forgive 
me that I have not loved thee ; give me 
a new heart that I may love thee now; 
take me as I am, and make me thine for- 
ever, for thine own sake. 

"Amen." 



THOU ART VERY NEAR. 

Though I never see the place 

Where, dear Savior, Thou didst die ; 

Yet I oft may see thy face, 

Here on earth beneath the sky. 

Pleasant it, indeed, would be, 

Could I to that city go, 
Where, upon dark Calvary, 

Thou didst die so loug ago. 



POETRY. 35 

Need I go so far away ? 

No ! for Tliou art very near. 
Thou wilt hear me if I pray ; 

Thou wilt drive away my fear. 

Jesus, now I come to Thee : 

Show me, Lord, Thy pierced brow; 

Teach me how Thou died for me; 
Help me come to Thee "just now." 



CHAPTER III. 

Lambs on "Castle Rock -'—Sandy, the "Chief Shepherd"— 
Climbing "Ben Nevis" — "Lambs shut in" — Shepherds 
trying to Save them — Risks his Life — Foolish Sheep fleeing 
from him — Part of the Lambs Saved — How Christ Died to 
save His sheep — His great Love for us — Children on the 
dark Mountains — Miner Dying to Save his Son — Little 
Girl led to Christ — "How Jesus must have Loved me" — 
"I want to Work for Him" — "I Love Jesus; yes, I do" — 
A good Letter, full of mistakes — The " Golden Chain " in 
verse — Jesus wants to Save you — Child's Prayer — Christ's 
Love toward children. 

" I lay down My life for the sheep.''— John x : 15. 

PROMISED in the first chapter 
to tell you of how the shepherds 
in the Highlands of Scotland some- 
times risk their lives that they may save 
the sheep and lambs that get into danger- 
ous places. 

(36) 





Sheep on Castle Rock. Page 37. 



CASTLE EOCK. 37 

One morning Sandy, the " chief shep- 
herd/' came, with a troubled face, to Mr. 
Wallace, whom I was visiting, and said: 
"A number of sheep have got down on 
to ' Castle Rock ; ' and they will die, if 
they are not soon got out. Shall I go 
with one of the other shepherds to get 
them out?" "0 yes; right away," said 
Mr. Wallace. And off they went, with a 
long rope, to get the prisoners out of 
prison. I at once said, "And I will go, too." 
And so, with a friend, we followed after 
the shepherds over the bogs and up the 
lofty sides of the rugged mountain. 

Come with us, my little friend; see how 
the sheep are to be got out of the strange 
place. But we must first see how in the 
world they got on to that ledge of rocks, 
away up on the steep sides of the mount- 
ain. Well, I will try and tell you. 



38 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

The sheep and lambs, you know, when 
feeding in their pastures, are all the time 
looking for nice bits of fresh green grass ; 
and so they often go nearly to the top of 
the high mountains. Well, as these sheep 
and lambs were picking their way along 
up, they came to a place where they saw 
a nice fresh plat of grass a little below 
them, and quickly they jumped down over 
the rough rocks to get at the morning 
breakfast. But there was not enough for 
a breakfast for all ; and, as they were 
looking about for more, they saw another 
plat of uncropped grass below them, and 
then another, and then another, till, at 
last, they were on " Castle Rock," where, 
in days before, a good many foolish lambs 
had been. But while it was very easy to 
get down to that place, it was not at all 
easy to get up out of it. 



SAYING THE LAMBS. 39 

They were much like rats in a trap. 
Below them was a steep precipice hun- 
dreds of feet straight down ; above them 
was an overhanging rock nearly forty feet 
to the top : and they could no more get 
back the way they came than they could 
jump to the top of that high rock over 
their heads. Would n't you think that 
every one of those sheep would be glad 
enough to have the kind shepherds come 
and contrive some way to save them from 
starving? But let us see if they were. 
Now, as we come nearer, let us watch and 
see how they are to be saved. 

See, Sandy has tied the rope around 
him; and Donald, the other shepherd, 
has hold of it, and is letting him down. 
See how tight he holds the rope ! Ah, if 
he should let Sandy fall, how quickly he 
would be dashed in pieces ! 



40 GATHERED LAMBS. 

• 

"Hold tight, Donald, or you will lose 
your friend! " 

"Aye, aye, I '11 no let him gang." 

But look ! look ! 0, see what some of 
the poor foolish lambs are doing! dear, 
they are jumping right off the edge of 
the steep precipice, down, down, down 
among the rocks. Oh, what fools ! to be 
afraid of that good shepherd, Sandy. He 
do n't wish to hurt them. He has come 
for miles to seek and to save them. Oh ! if 
they would only wait, he might save every 
one of them. 

But they are not all jumping off. See, 
a part of them are huddling up in the 
corner. They are not going to kill them- 
selves for nothing. yes, Sandy is among 
them ; and look, he is putting the rope 
around one of the lambs ; and now there 
he goes up in the air. yes, the other 



SANDY SAVED. 41 

shepherd, Donald, is pulling him up, up. 
Yes, there he is, safe on. the rock at the 
top. And so, one after another of the 
sheep and lambs are gathered at the top. 

And now look again. Sandy is tying 
the rope under his own arms ; and Donald 
is working hard to get him to' the top. 
Up, up, slowly he goes. dear, if he 
should fall ! If the rope should break he 
would be dashed all in pieces. There, we 
can breathe easier now; his feet are on 
the rock. He is saved, and he has saved 
the lives of at least part of the sheep on 
" Castle Rock." 

But suppose, my clear little reader, that, 
just as Sandy had nearly reached the top, 
the rope had broken, and he had fallen 
and been killed; and suppose those had 
been children instead of sheep, how would 
they have felt as they crept to the edge, 



42 GATHERED LAMBS. 

and looked over ? What would they have 
said as they looked down and saw the 
bleeding body of the man who lost his 
own life in saving theirs ? 0, I am sure 
that each one would have said, "How kind 
he was, to come and seek for us away on 
this mountain ! and then, when he found 
us clown in that prison, 0, how kind and 
loving he was, to risk and lose his life to 
save us ! I shall never forget him. I 
can not help loving him." 

Sandy told me that, one day when he 
was being pulled up to the top of that rock 
after he had saved a good many lambs, the 
rope was nearly worn off where it had been 
drawn so many times against the edge of 
the sharp rock ; and yet he expected to get 
the lambs all safely out of danger without 
getting hurt himself. 

But how was it with the Good Shep- 



JESUS OUK SAYIOE. 43 

herd, who said "I LAY down my life 
for the sheep." He well knew all that 
he must suffer if he would save us from 
eternal death ; and yet he cried, " Deliver 
them from going down to the pit. I have 
found a ransom : I give myself a ransom.' ' 
I think it was because he was thinking of 
all he must suffer if he would save sinners 
like you and me, that caused that bloody 
sweat to stand upon his brow in the garden 
of GetJisemane. He saw how a world of 
sinners — little children as well — had wan- 
dered off into the by and forbidden paths 
of sin, and how they had followed on from 
one temptation to another, till all were 
lost; so that, unless one " mighty to 
save " should stretch forth his strong 
arm, they must forever perish. And he 
had such a great heart of love, that he was 
willing to endure all that it was necessary 



44 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

to make it right for God to forgive us. 
Sanely had a sort of love for those poor 
sheep ; but it was nothing like the great 
love of Jesus for you and me. God's Word 
says, " Cheist also loved us, and gave 

HIMSELF EOE US." 

Will you be like those foolish sheep that 
ran away from the shepherd over the steep 
rock, and were killed ? or will you be like 
those that let Sandy save them? Some 
children are just as foolish as those sheep 
that plunged clown into that awful gulf. 
Some young people seem afraid of the 
dear loving Jesus: and when he is seeking 
to save them, they seem to run away from 
him. How unwise they are! Will you 
be like them ? But I am glad that many 
dear lambs do not run away from the 
Good Shepheed. No, no, they are not 
so foolish. When they hear his kind 



MINER AND SON. 45 

words, "Come unto me," they run to his 
open arms, and trust him ; and then they 
feel safe — safe fokevek. 

I have just been reading of how a little 
girl in England was led to love the Savior, 
by hearing an old story that has often been 
told to children. I will first tell you the 
story, as you may not have heard it, and 
then tell about the little child, who could 
say, as she thought of Jesus, " He loved 

ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOE ME." 

A miner and his only son used to go 
down in a deep mine to dig coal. Every 
night they were drawn to the top in a 
bucket and rope. One evening, as they 
were near the top, the father heard a 
crackling noise above them. He soon saw 
that the strands of the rope were breaking, 
and that only three or four of it held him 
and his dear child from an awful death. 



46 GATHERED LAMBS. 

He saw that one or both of them must 
perish. He quickly said: "My child, I 
will die to save your life. Lie quietly in 
the bottom of the basket, and you will 
soon be safe at the top." And no sooner 
were the words out of his mouth than he 
threw himself over, and was clashed in 
pieces. 

I think that father must have been a 
Christian ; and so, he knew that he would 
at once go to heaven; and, very likely, his 
son was not prepared to meet God ; and so, 
his father knew he would be sent away into 
a place of punishment: at any rate, when 
he might have thrown his son over, and 
thus saved himself, he the rather gave up 
his own life, to save his son from a dread- 
ful death. 

This story was told to a little girl, who 
at once saw how it spoke of what Jesus 



GOING HOME. 47 

had done for us, in giving himself a 
ransom for us. The tears ran clown her 
cheeks, as she said, "0, what love! How r 
Jesus must have loved me!" In a few 
weeks after, this dear child was laid upon 
a bed of sickness: it was her death bed. 
Just before she breathed her last, she 
called her mother, and said : 

"Dear mother, I am going to leave 
you." 

"Leave me, my child?" 

"Yes, dear mother. I love j^ou much, 
but I love Jesus very much, too, and I am 
going to him. And you know, mother, 
that it is far better than to live here; 
since He is willing to take me to himself. 
But before I go, I want you to do one 
thing." 

"Well, my child," said the weeping 
mother, "what is it?" 



48 GATHERED LAMBS. 

"I want you, mother, to go there at the 
foot of my bed, and you will find a little 
bag. In it there are eleven shillings. 
Will you take it, dear mother, to Mr. 

D , and ask him to give it to the 

Church Missionary Society 6 ! For oh! I 
love Jesus, who so loved me that he died 
for me; and I would like that his com- 
mand to go and preach the Gospel to 
every creature, should be fulfilled." 

Here is a letter from a little boy in 
Indianapolis, who was not like those fool- 
ish sheep who ran away from the kind 
shepherd. He not only thinks that he is 
now following Jesus, but you will see that 
he wants to work for Him. Charlie says, 

"I WANT TO WORK FOR JESUS." 

"Indianapolis, Ind., April 27th } 1869. 
"I am sorry to say that my mother 



chaelie's letter. 49 

always thought I loved Jesus; but I did 
not love him : but I am glad to say that I 
now love him. I pray every day for 
greater love for him, and to help me to 
work for him. 

"The first day I came to your meetings 
was the 20th of April, 1869. I heard 
those blessed hyms sung about Jesus, and 
they softened my heart some; but it was 
1 too stubborn to yield.' I went back the 
next day, and then I found Jesus. I wept; 
but soon I felt I loved him, and I was 
happy. 

"I hope that God will give me a i work- 
ing, loving, and sin-hating ' heart, and also 
an obedient heart. I shall always try to 
serve and love him. I have come to all 
your night meetings. I love to hear how 
the blessed Jesus died on the cross. 

u I have been working for Jesus, and it 
4 



50 GATHERED LAMBS. 

makes me happy ; but I feel as though. I 
had clone nothing. I want to work more 
for him. I hope that all will come to Jesus. 
I can sing ' I love Jesus ; ' this I know, for 
my new heart tells me so. 

"Pray for me and for a friend of mine, 
who was converted at the same time I 
was ; for he and I feel we have not done 
enough for Jesus, and have not loved him 
enough. 

"Your little friend, 

"Charles " 

I never tire of reading letters from 
children, who feel that they have found 
their way to the fold of Christ. Here is 
one from little "Laura," "eleven years 
and five months old." See how anxious 
she is to have all her little friends come 
to the dear Savior. If you too could only 



laura's experience. 51 

say with her, "I love Jesus; yes, I do" 
then you would know why she is "so 
happy." But you must first come and 
give yourself all up to Him who died for 
you, and then he will give you a new 
heart — a happy heart. 

"Saturday, May 1st, 1869. 

"Dear Mr. Hammond: — I feel so happy 
now ; and when I sing ' / love Jesus ; yes, 
I do,'' I think I feel just what I sing. I 
want to tell you something that I think 
will make you so glad, as it did my Sun- 
day-school teacher. 

"We had a meeting at our Sunday- 
school just like, or nearly like, the one you 
held for us children last week. When the 
pastor of our church asked all those that 
thought they had found Jesus — and all of 
our class did — all were there but one, and 



52 GATHERED LAMBS. 

she said she would not come while you 
were here. But we have been praying for 
her, and are going to talk to her, and ask 
her how she can ever repay the great debt 
she owes her Savior, who died on the cross 
that she might be saved. 

" I spoke to my seat-mate at school, and 
asked her if she loved the blessed Savior; 
and she said she thought she did, and 
would try and go in the right way, which 
leads to life eternal. I am trying to go 
in that right way. 

"I can not stop speaking about Him 
who died on the cross for me. I am 
eleven years old and five months. 
' ' Yours very truly, 

"Laura " 

In Indianapolis, where little Laura lived, 
many more boys and girls learned to trust 



HAPPY EXPERIENCE. 53 

their Savior. Last winter, over two hun- 
dred and fifty came from one of the meet- 
ings in the church to the young converts' 
meeting. Two gentlemen stood at the door 
and examined each one, so that no "goats " 
might get in with the lambs into the "fold." 
Among the number was a boy, whose letter 
I think you will like to read. I shall send 
it to the printer just as it stands — little 
"i's" and all. 

" Indianapolis, Ind., May 1st, 1869. 
"Dear Mr. Hammond: — I 'tended your 
first meet you held Sunday afternoon. I 
didn't want to go at first, but my good, dear 
mother urged me to go ; and now i have 
got hold of the first link of the golden 
chain ; and now i am so happy i feel like 
working for Jesus all the time. Will you 
pray for me, that i may hold out faithful 
to the end? 



54 GATHERED LAMBS. 

" There was a boy came to me, and 
wanted me to go to the circus ; but i 
would not go. I told him i was going to 
the children's meetings ; and i asked him 
to come and go with me; and i wanted 
you to ask the Christians to pray for him. 
And our Sunday-school teacher is such a 
good Christian ; he often talks to us, and 
tells us about Jesus. He has often prayed 
for our conversion. We are eight in 
number. There are three of us has been 
converted. Will you pray for the rest of 
our class, that they may come to Jesus? 
" From your friend, 



Perhaps you do not know what this boy 
means when he says " I have got hold 

OF THE FIRST LINK OF THE GOLDEN 

chain." I will tell you. 



THE "golden chain." 55 

I once told the children that I had a 
nice present for each of them — a "golden 
chain." Each could have one if they 
would accept of it. It reached all the 
way to heaven; and if they got hold of 
the "first link/' they would get hold of 
the "last link" by and by. 

I then explained to them how that, if 
they would come to Jesus and trust in 
him, he would make them "holy, useful, 
and happy," and that he would at last 
take them home to heaven; and thus they 
would reach the "last link" of the "golden 
chain." 

"While preaching in Mr. Spurgeon's 
tabernacle in London, to several thousand 
children, I spoke of the "golden chain;" 
and soon after a young man handed to me 
the following lines, which he had written 
about it : 



56 GATHEEED LAMBS. 



THE GOLDEN CHAIN. 

11 The God who made this pleasant earth, 
Now waits to give to you 
A priceless gift of unknown worth, 
Of richest golden hue. 

" It is a handsome, precious chain, 
Most glorious to behold, 
Though many pass it with disdain, 
Because 'tis not of gold. 

"But if they knew its costly price, 
How much Jehovah gave 
To purchase it, it would surprise, 
They'd wish the chain to have. 

"You've heard how God, His only Son, 
Sent down to sutler loss ; 
How, when His works of love were done, 
They nailed Him to the cross. 

"You've heard how there He hung and bled, 
'Midst mockery and scorn; 
And how at last He bowed His head, 
Encircled with the thorn. 



POETEY. 57 

" This was the price the present cost — 
The life of Christ the Lord ; 
That we poor sinners, vile and lost, 
Might have this great reward. 

"Of links, this chain has only five; 
Each one more precious far 
Than all the gold for which men strive, 
Though piled up bar on bar. 

JESUS. 

" The first link is the ' Sinner's Friend,' 
'Tis Jesus Christ the Lord, 
Who to this earth did kindly bend, 
His succor to afford. 

HOLINESS. 

11 If you by faith the first can grasp, 
Then holiness you'll have; 
This is the next, oh, hold it fast ! 
From sin it will you save. 

USEFULNESS. 

"The third link usefulness is named; 
If you the first possess, 
I 'm sure you have this one obtained, 
And Jesus you'll confess. 



58 GATHERED LAMBS. 

HAPPINESS. 

" True happiness you then will find, 
If having all these three, 
True pleasure with your work combine 
As sure as sure can be. 

HEAVEN. 

11 Then last of all, you shall receive 
A glorious home in heaven; 
A crown of life to you He '11 give, 
With ail who are forgiven. 

" Oh! do this chain at once accept, 
Nor careless turn away ; 
No longer such a gift reject, 
But take it now, to-day J 1 

Now, my dear little friend, would you 
not like to get hold of the "last link" of 
the " golden chain ? " But you never will 
reach heaven unless you first come to 
Jesus, the "first link" and trust in him. 
He has endured a dreadful death, that 
sinners like you and me might be saved 
from the punishment we deserved. He 



child's prayer. 59 

suffered the "just for the unjust, that he 
might bring us to Gro&P How can you help 
loving him? No friend you ever had has 
shown such love for you. What a sinner 
you must be, not to love Him ! What an 
awful wicked and haxxl heart yours must 
be! Oh! come and ask God for Jesus' 
sake to forgive you all your sins. He 
will do it. He wants to do it. He has 
been waiting for you to come and ask him 
to do it for you. Will you not, then, kneel 
down, and offer, with all your heart, this 
child's prayer: 

"0 God, be merciful to me, a poor 
guilty sinner. I have broken thy good 
laws, and done many, many wicked things. 
May thy Spirit show me how very sinful 
I have been. I know that I deserve 
nothing but punishment. Thou mightest 
justly shut me up in thy prison forever, 



60 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

but thou hast given thy dear Son to die 
for us. I thank thee that thou didst so 
love the world as to give thine only-begot- 
ten Son, 'that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting 
life.' 

" Help me to believe in him. Show r me 
that I can never get hold of the second 
link — ' holiness ' — of the ' golden chain/ 
unless I first come to Jesus. Teach me 
that, if I would ever be really ' useful ' 
and 'happy,' I must first come as a poor 
lost sinner to Jesus, and trust in him, and 
get hold of the 'first link? Open my 
blind eyes, that I may see those wounds 
in the hands and feet of the ' Good Shep- 
herd/ who laid down his life for the sheep. 
Open my deaf ears, that I may hear him 
saying to me 'Look unto me, and be 

YE SAVED.' 



JESUS' LOVE. 61 

" Dear Lord Jesus, I come to thee 'just 
as I am.' Take and make me thine. I 
give myself to thee. I want to love and 
trust thee; for I know thou hast loved 
me. 'Lord, I believe; help thou mine 
unbelief.' I believe thou wilt wash all 
my sins away, and blot them out of thy 
book, for Jesus' sake. 

CHRIST'S LOVE TOWARDS CHILDREN, 

" Children ! there is none like Jesus, 
Fond and tender, gentle, kind ; 
'Mongst the friends on earth who please us, 
None like Jesus you can find ; 
He calls you lambs. 
He marks your names, 
And knows the secrets of your mind. 

" Sweet the mother's fond caressings, 
Kind the anxious father's care; 
Sweeter much are Jesus' blessings, 
And He watches every hair ; 



62 GATHERED LAMBS. 

He never sleeps, 
But loves and keeps 
His little ones as jewels rare. 

"Tend' rest mothers may forsake you, 
Pitying fathers be unkind ; 
Then it is that Christ will take you, 
And to His fond bosom bind. 
He '11 never leave 
His lambs to grieve, 
Forgotten, helpless, weak, and blind. 

"When you from His fold are straying 
To the wolf's or lion's den, 
He is to His Father praying, 
For He loves you even then : 
Goes forth to see 
Where you may be, 
And yearns to bring you back again. 

"See your gentle Shepherd's meekness, 
When young children to Him came, 
How He smiled upon their weakness, 
Cast on men's rebukes His blame. 
Yes, children dear, 
You need not fear, 
Your Savior's love is still the same. 



POETRY. 63 

u Spake the Lord to those around Him, 
'Heaven's kingdom is of such;' 
Men, not children, sold and bound Him ; 
Children lov'd and prais'd Him much; 
They ran to meet, 
To sing and greet, 
And gain the Son of David's touch. 

"Pleasing are your smiles and gladness 
In the sight of your best Friend: 
Dread to grieve Him, lest His sadness 
Bring your pleasures to an end: 
But come what will, 
Cling to Him still, 
And henceforth to His voice attend. 

" If you saw a dear friend weeping 
O'er your foolish, sinful ways, 
Would you not resolve on keeping 
From such faults for future days, 
And grieve to see 
His misery? 
So Jesus weeps, when one lamb strays. 

11 Sin to you must be as hateful 
As it is in Jesus' sight : 



! 



64 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Strive to love Him, and be grateful ; 
Try to think and do what's right; 
And He will give 
You grace to live 
And walk as children of the light. 

" Ready thus for Christ's appearing, 
Lambs He'll gather to His rest, 
And be seen to heaven bearing 
All His children to His breast. 
No sin, no sorrow, 
No night, no morrow, 
But day eternal,— joy the best I " 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Pet Lamb "Snowy" Stolen — The Search — Snowy 
"Redeemed''' — Grateful Children — Christ has Redeemed us — 
His great Sufferings — Do you love Him ? — He Calls you — 
Many children heed His voice — Rosa's Letter — Meetings at 
Leamington —"Little Ones in the Fold " — Katie in Chelms- 
ford, England — Three Little Sisters — I must tell you how 
happy I feel — "Thirteen years old, without my Savior" — 
Seven Thousand at a Children's Meeting — Mr. J. Sands — 
"Jesus is Mine'' — "A New Heart" — Kissing the Stones in 
Jerusalem — " The Bleeding Lamb." 

" Return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee."— Isa. xliv: 22. 



ID you ever have a beautiful pet 
lamb? I had, when I was a little 
boy ; and I was very fond of it. 
It would follow me all about. It knew its 
name as well as a dog does. I was so 
fond of it, that I was quite willing to let 

5 (65) 




66 GATHERED LAMBS. 

it share any little dainties that I might 
have. But it's not about my pet lamb 
that I am now going to tell you, but about 
another, whose name was " Snoivy" 

Jane and Mary and William each loved 
their " Cosset Snowy." Every morning 
they ran out, almost as soon as they were 
up, to feed it. One morning they went, as 
usual, to feed their lamb ; but it could not 
be found. They looked all about the house 
and fields, but it was all in vain. No one 
had seen Snowy that morning. At last 
the good sisters and brother started for 
the village, which was a mile or two off. 

As they came near to it, what do you 
think they saw? They could scarcely 
believe it. Why, there was Snowy, with 
a great rope around its neck ; and a large 
butcher's boy was dragging it away to the 
slaughter house, to kill it. Up ran Willie, 



"it's my snowy." 67 

and called out to the boy, "What are you 
doing with my Snowy ? " 
"It's not your lamb." 
"Yes, it is; it's my Snowy." 
" No, it 's not. My master bought it, and 
he has sent me to kill it ; and I am going 
to do so." And with these words, he pulled 
poor Snowy along through the road, while 
each of the children were bathed in tears. 
Just then a gentleman rode up on horse- 
back, and called out, "What's all this noise 
about?" 

William was quick to answer, " He 's 
got our Snoivy, and he 's going to kill it." 
The gentleman soon found out all about 
the matter ; for the butcher, hearing the 
dispute, came out to see what was the 
trouble: and he told the gentleman that 
he had bought the lamb of a man who 
must have stolen it from the children. 



68 GATHERED LAMBS. 

"Well," said the gentleman on horse- 
back, "how much do you ask for Snowy? " 

"I will take five dollars for it." 

" Rather than see these children crying 
so bitterly, I will pay the five dollars.'' 

The money was handed to the butcher; 
and the rope was unloosed from Snowy's 
neck, and away it scampered after the 
children. 

But what do you think William and 
Mary and Jane said to the kind stranger 
who had "redeemed" Snowy? Of course 
they thanked him with all their hearts. 
Snowy had been sold to be killed ; but he 
had bought it back; or, to use a Bible 
word, he had "redeemed" it. 

It was not much for that rich gentleman 
to pay five dollars, to "redeem " that lamb. 
But have you thought of what it cost the 
Good Shepherd to redeem his flock from 



CHRIST REDEEMED US. 69 

being dragged away to a place of punish- 
ment? Before He could say, "I have 

REDEEMED THEE; I HAVE CALLED THEE 
BY THY NAME: THOU ART MINE," he had 
to Say, "I LAY DOWN MY LIFE E0R THE 
SHEEP." 

Yes, that was what He did; He laid 
down his life for the sheep. "Ye were not 
redeemed with corruptible things, as silver 
and gold, but with the precious blood 
of Christ." 

You know that, when they pressed the 
crown of thorns into his head, the blood 
trickled down his brow. And when the 
great nails were driven through his hands 
and feet, the blood oozed out, and fell 
down upon the ground. 

When the Bible says, "Ye were re- 
deemed with the precious blood of Christ," 
it means, that when we had broken God's 



70 GATHERED LAMBS. 

good laws, and deserved to be punished, 
Christ gave himself up to suffer in our 
place. He gave himself a kansom for us. 
What a great heart of love he must have 
had to be willing to die — "the just for 
the unjust, that he might bring us to 
God!" 

Have you ever thanked him for this 
wonderful love? Do you love him for it? 

Doctor Doddridge's little daughter was 
once asked: "Why does every body love 
you?" 

" I do n't know/ 7 she said; "unless it 's 
because I love every bodyT 

No one could help loving the little pet, 
because her heart seemed .so full of love 
to all. But suppose that some of her 
friends had done some dreadful things, 
for which they must have been shut up in 
prison a long time, or have been punished 



"I HAVE REDEEMED THEE." 71 

severely ; would she have been willing 
to have redeemed them by taking their 
place. But that was what Jesus did. 
He was not obliged to die for us ; but it 
was because he " loved us" that he 
"gave himself for us." 

Will vou not come and thank him for 
this great love? What if those children 
had passed on without even thanking that 
gentleman who had "redeemed" Snowy? 
what would you have thought of them? 

And what do you suppose the angels 
think of you for not loving the precious 
Savior who "bore our sins in his oto 

BODY ON THE TREE ? " 

But though you have been so wicked, 
yet the loving Jesus calls to you: "Re- 
turn UNTO ME, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED 
THEE." 

What would you have thought of 



72 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Snowy, if, after the rope was untied, it 
had still followed the butcher to the 
slaughter-house? But if you turn away 
from Jesus you will be doing something 
worse than that. You know there are 
only two ways; and all who are not in 
the straight and narrow way are in the 
broad way that leadeth to destruction. 
Until you come to Jesus, and trust in 
him, you are in that dreadful " broad 
way; " and the dear Jesus knows it; and 
so he calls after you: "Return unto me, I 
have redeemed tliee." 

I am very thankful that many dear 
children listen to his voice, and come and 
trust him, and love him for dying on the 
cross for them. 

I have been reading over a great many 
letters to-day from children who have writ- 
ten to me, and told me how they learned to 



MEETINGS AT LEAMINGTON. 73 

love the dear Savior who "redeemed" them 
with his own " precious blood." It is more 
interesting to see them just as they were 
written, some of them full of mistakes, 
than to read them after they are printed. 
Numbers of them, I find, are written by 
children so young that they did not know 
how to write, and so they had to print 
their letters word by word. Even these 
little children, who truly love Jesus, can 
say with Job: " I know. that my Redeemer 
liveth ; " and with Jeremiah; " 0, Lord, 
thou hast redeemed my life." 

Last year we spent three weeks at a 
beautiful place in England, called Leam- 
ington. All around are beautiful drives 
to places where all the Americans who 
visit that country like to go. 

But I was far more deeply interested 
in some children's meetings there than 



74 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

with all the sights about Warwick Castle 
and Leamington. At one of these meet- 
ings I found little "Rosa" weeping most 
bitterly. After awhile she found that 
weeping would not save her, but that 
faith in Christ would save her ; and, as a 
poor, lost lamb, she came to the fold of 
the "Good Shepherd," and found that he 
was willing to receive her. 

I often saw little Rosa after she wrote 
this letter, and also her older sister, who 
told me that she was a changed child. 
Her letter is short, but I think it means a 
great deal. Could you write such a letr 
ter? 

"September 26, 1868. 

"When I first attended your meetings 
I did not care about my soul, but after I 
went a few times I saw how wicked I had 
been, and that if I would give myself 



eosa's letter. 75 

right up to Jesus I should be saved. I 
trust I can now say: 

" 'I have left all my sins at the foot of the cross; 
Sinful pleasures are now to my taste but as dross.' 

" After the meeting on Wednesday even- 
ing, a young lady came and asked me if I 
loved Jesus. Satan was then tempting me 
to say 'No; ' but I did not say it, because 
I thought I loved Jesus. After I went 
home, I went and prayed to Jesus to give 
me a new heart; for he says: ' Him that 
cometh to me I will in nowise cast out.' 
And now, dear Mr. Hammond, I hope 
that if you come to Leamington again, 
that I may still be clinging to Jesus. I 
will pray for you and Mrs. Hammond 
when you are miles and miles away, that 
you may lead many to Christ. 

" Your little friend, Rosa." 



76 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Here is a very nice letter from a boy in 
that same city of Leamington. I know it 
will interest you ; and I think you will say 
that it reads as if the little writer was now 
in the fold of the " Good Shepherd." 



11 Leamington, 

September 18, 1868. 



i 



" I am happy to say that I have fast 
hold of the first link of the golden chain, 
and I hope I may keep it. 

"When I think of Jesus Christ, what 
a cruel death he died to save sinners, 
of whom 2" am the chief, then I ask my- 
self the question: Why did I not turn 
unto Him and live? and why have I re- 
jected Him so long, Who has suffered so 
much for me ? 

"I never was so happy as I was when 
I went up on the platform last night, when 



JESUS' LOVE. 77 

you said: 'All that are not Christians up 
here are telling a very great lie.' I felt 
half resolved to go down, when something 
whispered to me : i Do n't go down if you 
feel that you love the dear Jesus Christ, 
who loves you so much.' 

" Perhaps we may never meet again in 
this world ; but w T hen you are miles and 
miles away from here, my prayers will 
never be said without thinking of the dear 
Mr. H., who led me to understand them. 
" From your little friend. 

" * I have left all my sins at the foot of the cross ; 
Sinful pleasures are now to my taste but as dross/ 

"'He was bruised for our iniquities; He 
was wounded for our transgressions. The 
chastisement of our peace was upon him, 
and with his stripes we are healed.' : 

About seven years ago I published my 



78 GATHERED LAMBS. 

first book for children. " Little Ones in 
the Fold " was the name of it. It was 
full of letters from children, telling how 
they had found peace in believing in 
Jesus. 

I have often wished that I had tried to 
make it more interesting to children, and 
sometimes I have been almost sorry that 
I let it be published. But when I went 
over to England I learned that it had 
been republished there and six thousand 
copies sold. And I found that a good 
many who often addressed children were 
in the habit of taking that book and read- 
ing the letters to their little hearers ; and 
so I saw that these children's letters were 
doing a great deal of good. The children 
who wrote them never thought that they 
would be printed. And so it may be that 
God will use some of these letters in 



katie's lettek. 79 

"Gathered Lambs " to help Christians, in 
other countries as well as in this, to interest 
the little ones and to lead them to Christ. 

In Chelmsford, in England, little 
"Katie," of eleven summers, thus writes 
about herself and her two sisters — whose 
letters also I will let you read. The old- 
est of this trio is but thirteen. 

I often saw them at their own home ; 
and their mother told me that she had no 
doubt that they had come to Christ and 
been truly converted, or turned from going 
the wrong way that leads down to hell. 

If you were converted, you, too, could 
say with Katie : 

"I HAVE BEEN SO HAPPY." 

"I know Jesus loves little children; for 
he pardoned my sins a little more than a 
year ago, when my dear mama was pray- 



80 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

ing with me in her room. But I have 
been so happy at your meetings that I 
thought I must write and tell vou. Two 
of my dear sisters have found Jesus since 
you came; and we are all so happy. Jesus 
said: 'Suffer little children to come unto 
me, and forbid them not; for of such is 
the kingdom of heaven.' 
" Your little friend, 

" Kate Annie Dimbleby." 
Age, eleven. 

Mary Jane, Katie's little sister, says : 

" I found Jesus a short time ago. I 
feel happy. I hope all the other little 
children will find Jesus and be happy. I 
hope I have a new heart. I love to at- 
tend your meetings ; and I very much en- 
joyed the prayer-meeting this afternoon. 



MARY JANE'S LETTER. 81 

I knew I was a sinner a year or two ago. 
I felt happy at the meeting in the new 
school-room, at London road, about a fort- 
night ago. My brother is writing this for 
me while I tell him what to say. 

" Your little friend in Jesus, 

"Mary Jane." 

Little Emily, the third sister, seems to 
love her great Redeemer. If she is re- 
ally a Christian, she will often feel her 
own weakness, and that all her strength 
to do her duty and to walk in the right 
way must come from the Lord ; and her 
prayer will often be : 

« Let the words of my mouth, and the 
meditation of my heart, be acceptable in 
thy sight, Lord, my strength, and my 
redeemer."— Psalms xix : 14. 

She will find her prayer answered; for 
6 



82 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Jesus' words are: "Ask, and ye shall re- 
ceive." By sweet experience she will 
learn that God's Word is true when it 

says: 

"The Lord redeemeth the soul of his 
servants : and none of them that trust in 
him shall be desolate." — Psalms xxxiv: 22. 

"I must tell you how happy I feel. I 
found Jesus last Wednesday week. My 
dear teacher had been telling me how Je- 
sus loved us, and I felt that I must love 
him and give him my heart. I felt very 
unhappy before, because I was a sinner. 
But when Jesus pardoned my sins, I 
wanted to sing all the time. 

44 4 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and thou shalt be saved ! ' 

44 Your young friend, 

44 Emily Dimbleby." 



THIRTEEN YEAES WITHOUT A SAVIOR. 83 

Still another letter from Chelmsford, 
which says : 

"I HAVE LIVED THIRTEEN YEARS WITH- 
OUT my Savior, and now I have found 

HIM." 

How many years have you lived with- 
out Jesus ? ! let this be the last ! 

"I thought I must write to tell you 
how happy I have felt since I have been 
to the last meeting. I feel I have found 
my Savior, and I do love him. A kind 
friend came up to me and talked with 
me, and I felt I was a great sinner ; but 
now I feel happy. I have lived thirteen 
years without my Savior, and now I have 
found him. I wish to be one of Jesus' 
lambs. 

" Sarah Martha." 



84 GATHERED LAMBS. 

How many children did you ever see 
gathered in one place? Perhaps you say: 
" I once saw three thousand." Well, 
that is a great many. But I have seen 
more than that. At my first children's 
meeting, at Mr. Spurgeon's tabernacle, in 
London, one of his deacons told me there 
were eight thousand- present. I could 
hardly believe it. But he told me why 
he thought so, and I could but think 
there were certainly over seven thousand 
of little ones packed in that great building. 
You know many more children can get 
into a building than grown people, espe- 
cially if they stand crowded together in 
the aisles. 

Mr. John Sands, with whom I lived four 
months in London, sat near me on the plat- 
form weeping much of the time when I was 
speaking to the children. Why do you 



MR. JOHN SANDS. 85 

think he wept? He was a good Christian 
and knew that he loved his Savior, and 
that heaven would be his home forever. 
Why, then, did he weep ? I will tell you. 
As he looked upon that great company 
of little ones he felt that each of them 
had a precious soul to be saved or lost; 
and that that Sabbath afternoon would be 
a turning-point with many. And so he 
wept — while he prayed most earnestly 
that God's Holy Spirit might open their 
blind eyes to see that they were lost sin- 
ners, and that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, 
had borne the punishment they deserved. 
His prayers were answered ; for that 
afternoon, and night after night during 
the week, hundreds of the dear children 
were bathed in tears. And then, as they 
saw how ready Jesus was to save them, 
their tears of sorrow were changed to 



86 GATHERED LAMBS. 

those of joy. Among the number Avas a 
dear child, whose letter I think you will 
like to read. She says: 

" Through the kindness of a friend I 
first heard of you. I had a book given 
to me, called 'Jesus' Lambs,' written by 
you. I had thought I had loved Jesus 
before, but when I read that book I felt 
how wicked I was, and how kind and 
loving dear Jesus was to come down from 
heaven and die for us. Yesterday night 
I came to your meeting at Mr. Spurgeon's 
tabernacle, and then I felt I could, indeed, 
give myself to Jesus, and sing ' Jesus is 
mine.' I have several of your little 
books, among them, ' The Little Boy who 
crossed the Atlantic without a Ticket.' 
0, dear Mr. Hammond, when I read that 
book I knelt right down and asked Jesus 



"to our mother m heaven." 87 

to give me a ticket to get to heaven ; and 
I think he has. 

" Please write to me and tell me some 
favorite verses of yours out of the Bible. 

" You said last night you were going to 
America. I pray God will bless you and 
all those whom you have helped to find 
Jesus. My dear mother died last August ; 
and I found such a beautiful hymn in your 
hymn-book, 'To our Mother in Heaven.' 
I have two sisters and two brothers ; one 
is a little baby. I asked him to-day if he 
loved Jesus, and he said Yes. I told how 
Jesus came down from heaven and was 
crucified. Please pray for my dear sisters 
who have not found Jesus. One is older 
than I am. 

" I remain, dear Mr. Hammond, 
"Yours lovingly. 

"From your little friend, aged thirteen." 



88 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Now, my dear little friend, can you, 
with the writer of this last note, say, 
" Jesus is mine?" If not, do come to 
Him "just now" — just as you are. Do 
not try to make yourself better. Come 
to him and he will make you better. 
God will not only forgive you all your 
sins, but he will at the same change your 
heart, and then you will have what the 
Bible calls a "new heart." His promise 
is: "A new heart will I give you, and a 
new spirit will I put within you." Yes, 
he will do all this for you for his dear 
Son's sake — who has redeemed us with 
his own precious blood. 

I saw many people in Jerusalem kiss- 
ing the very stones upon which they were 
told jesus had trodden; yes, and wetting 
them with their tears. But I wanted to 
tell them that that would not save them, 



child's pkayek. 89 

and that they must come and give them- 
selves all up to Christ and believe in him 
as their only Savior, if they ever expected 
to escape from hell and to reach heaven 
at last. And that is just what you must 
do if you expect to be saved. 0, think 
of how he bled and died on the cross that 
you might be saved ! 

A friend of mine in London, Mr. Charles 
Davis, who attended those children's meet- 
ings at Mr. Spurgeon's tabernacle, handed 
me at that time some beautiful little verses, 
which, I hope, will just express your feel- 
ings as a child's prayek. 

Jesus, thou hast loved me; 
Borne my guilt and misery; 
Yet, alas ! I've slighted thee, 

0, thou bleeding Lamb I 

Now, with broken heart, I pray : 
Take, take my sins away; 



90 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Let me love thee from this day, 
0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 

Let thine arms be opened wide ; 
Draw me to thy wounded side ; 
Let me ever there abide, 

0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 

By thy suffering on the tree, 

By thy bitter agony, 

Now forgive and rescue me, 

0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 

I can see thy sacred face, 
Wet with tears of melting grace — 
Pale and cold in death's embrace; 
0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 

I can only weep and sigh ; 
Jesus hear a sinner's cry; 
Turn on me a pitying eye, 

0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 

From thy feet I will not move 
Till thou show me all thy love; 
Hear and bless me from above, 
0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 



a child's peayer. 91 

Yes ; thou hast in love divine 
Cleansed this sinful heart of mine ; 
From this day will I be thine, 

0, thou bleeding Lamb I 

Savior, now I love thee well ; 
Thou hast rescued me from hell; 
Thine is love no tongue can tell, 
0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 

I will praise thee every day, 
Till by death I 'm called away ; 
Then I '11 sing to thee for aye, 
0, thou bleeding Lamb ! 



CHAPTER V. 

Our visit to Jerusalem — Gethsemane — Calvary — Rules in 
School — Prisons — All Sinners — Christ died for us — The 
Story of his life and death — Our visit to the places where 
He lived — His great sufferings — "Why forsaken" — He 
will save 'you now — Letters from happy children — 
Poetry — "Jesus on the Cross." 



1 Behold the Lamb of God."— John i : 29. 



E have been talking a good deal 

in the other chapters of this 

book about the "Gatheked 

Lambs," but in this chapter I 

want to tell you, more fully and clearly 

than I have clone, how it is that because 

Jesus, the " Lamb of God," laid down his 

(92) 




VISIT TO JEEUSALEM. 93 

life for us, God is now able to save and 
gather the lambs. 

I pray that you may understand what 
I am now to say to you. This chapter 
is the most important of all in the book, 
for it tells you just what Jesus has done 
for us, and how he can now gather lost 
and sinful children into his fold. 

I was glad, when in Jerusalem, to go to 
the place where the altar stood, and where 
thousands of innocent animals were slain, 
to lead the young and old to think of 
Christ who should come to redeem the 
world. It was a great pleasure to walk 
upon that sacred ground where the temple 
of Solomon once stood ; but we took more 
pleasure in visiting those places where 
Jesus, the Lamb of God, suffered for our 
sakes. 

We visited the garden of Gethsemane, 



94 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

where he sweat those great drops of 
blood; where he cried: " Father, if it be 
possible, let this cup pass from me;" and 
Pilate's hall, where they mocked and 
scourged him with a great whip, until 
the blood ran down his back ; where they 
crowned him with thorns till the crimson 
drops covered his face; where they buf- 
feted him with the fist till " his face was 
marred more than any man's." There 
we thought of how he " was wounded for 
our transgressions, and was bruised for 
our iniquities." But 0, my dear chil- 
dren, I can not tell you how we felt when 
we stood upon the very spot where multi- 
tudes believe the Lamb of Grod was slain 
for the sin of the world. 

Some people think that if they only go 
to Jerusalem, where Jesus died, that they 
are sure of reaching heaven at last. But 



WHY JESUS DIED FOR US. 95 

this is a great mistake. JSTo one can go 
to heaven unless they first believe in Je- 
sus as their Savior, and trust in him. 
Then they will learn to look to him, and 
will show by their changed lives that they 
are really his. 

But, my clear children, perhaps you ask 
why was it that Jesus had to die for us? 
Could not God have saved us without the 
holy Jesus dying in our stead? This is 
a very important question, and I have 
been praying to God to help me to explain 
it to you. 

You go to school, perhaps, and under- 
stand what rules are. Your teacher tells 
you that if you break these rules you 
must be punished. Are you angry with 
your teacher for making these good rules ? 
Oh, no ; you think it is quite right. Your 
parents would not send you to a school 



96 GATHERED LAMBS. 

where there were no rules — where the 
teacher allowed the children to behave 
badly, and to do mischief, and never study 
at all. Your parents would say : " There 
is no use in sending our children to such 
a school as that ; they will never learn 
any thing, and they will fall into bad 
habits." If you are very naughty, and 
break these rules, and are punished for 
it, your, father and mother know it is 
quite right, and though they are sorry for 
it, they are, after all, glad that you have 
a good teacher, who tries to make you 
good children. 

You understand w T hat the laws of the 
country are. You know that when men 
break these laws, they are punished for 
it ; because people could not live in the 
world unless wickedness were checked. 
You have seen prisons, where men and 



ALL HAVE SINNED. 97 

women, and even children, are kept shut 
up for years, and where they have to 
work hard, and sleep each in a little dark 
cell every night alone. Is it not right for 
these men to be shut up in prison when 
they break those good laws of the land ? 
The wise men who make these good laws, 
and who punish wicked people for break- 
ing them, do so to warn others, and for 
the good of the country. It is quite right, 
is it not ? No good men are angry with 
those wise men for punishing the wicked 
peoj)le who break the laws. 

You know, my dear children, that all 
who live in this world have sinful hearts. 
There is not a child, or man, or woman 
in all the world who is not a sinner 
against God, Our natures are sinful, and 
our acts are sinful. God's Word says : 

"All have sinned;" and it also says, 

7 



98 GATHERED LAMBS. 

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." 
And that does not mean merely that our 
bodies must die, but that we who live in 
these bodies must, when we die, be for- 
ever shut out from the presence of God in 
heaven. All are sinners ; all have broken 
God's good laAvs. 

You, yes, yoit, my dear little friends, 
have broken God's laws many times. 
Perhaps you have not thought of this very 
often; but it is true. If you should die 
to-day without being forgiven, you could 
never enter heaven ; for the Bible says : 
" The wicked shall go away into everlast- 
ing punishment." (Matt, xxv: 46.) 

When God desired to save a world of 
guilty sinners, the Son of God freely gave 
himself to die in our stead. Though we 
were so wicked as to rebel against God, 
yet Jesus' heart was filled with love, and 



"I GIVE MYSELF A KAXSOM." 99 

he cried: " Deliver them from going 
clown to the pit; I give myself a ransom." 

Not only clicl Jesus Christ love us, but 
God loved us; for it says in John iii: 16: 
" God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only-begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lie veth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life." It must have been very 
hard for God to give up his well-beloved 
Son. He must have loved him infinitely 
more than any father on earth ever loved 
his child. 

At the appointed time Christ came into 
the world, and took upon him our nature, 
and obeyed all God's laws. He never 
committed a single sin. Thirty years he 
lived in Nazareth. When I was in Pal- 
estine I went to see that place, and saw 
the fountain from which he drank. We 
wandered over the hills where he had 



100 GATHERED LAMBS. 

often walked; and we stood upon the 
brow of the hill where his angry towns- 
men were ready to throw him clown, be- 
cause he preached the Gospel faithfully 
to them. During the last three years of 
his stay on earth he wrought many mira- 
cles. He raised the dead to life; he 
opened the eyes of the blind ; he healed 
the sick. We sailed upon the sea of Gal- 
ilee, upon which he once walked. On the 
north-eastern shore of the lake we visited 
Capernaum, where he raised to life Jairus' 
little daughter. We walked upon the hill- 
sides where he fed five thousand people 
with five loaves and a few fishes. 

We visited Bethany, where Martha and 
Mary lived, and where Jesus raised Laza- 
rus from the dead. We stood beside the 
tomb, or rather the deep cave from which 
it is believed he called Lazarus forth to 



" MIGHTY TO SAVE." 101 

life. Visiting this place made us realize 
that Jesus is Grod as well as man; for no 
mere man could raise the dead to life. 
No man could walk upon the sea. If he 
had been only a man, though he might 
have been a very good man, his death 
would not have done us any good. He 
was God as well as man; he is the one 
"mighty to save" The Bible says he is 
"able to save to the uttermost all who 
come unto God by him." (Heb. vii: 25.) 
Yes, my dear children, he is able to save 
every one of you. You have only to 
come to him just as you are, and trust in 
him. He will at once receive you, and 
God will forgive you. 

But though it is such an easy thing to 
come to Christ and be saved, it was not an 
easy thing for Jesus to die in our stead. I 
can never, never tell you how much he suf- 



102 GATHERED LAMBS. 

fered for us. The very thought of what 
he had to endure, in order to make it pos- 
sible for God to save us, caused the bloody 
sweat to run down from his brow in the 
garden of Gethsemane. And yet he loved 
us so much that he did not shrink from 
the suffering which he must endure. 
When the heavy lashes were being laid 
upon his bleeding back in Pilate's hall, 
when he was crowned with thorns and 
spit upon, he might in a moment have 
destroyed his cruel tormentors, and gone 
away to heaven. But if he had done 
that he could never take us to heaven 
with him when he comes again to receive 
his own. He knew what he would have 
to endure for us, yet he gave himself up 
willingly to be "led as a lamb to the 
slaughter, and, as a sheep before her 
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his 



CALYAEY. 103 

mouth." (Isaiah liii: 7.) After he had 
been insulted in every way, he let them 
lay the heavy cross on his bleeding shoul- 
ders, and then he let them lead him along 
the sorrowful way, until his body sank 
beneath the crushing weight. At last he 
reached the place called Calvary. There 
they laid hold of him, thrust him down 
upon the cross, and with blow after blow 
they drove the cruel nails through his 
hands and through his feet. 

0, think of it, my dear children, think 
of having nails driven right through your 
hands and through your feet. Do you 
suppose, if you could save the life of 
some little friend of yours, that you would 
have been willing to have had nails driven 
through your hands and through your feet, 
and to be fastened to a cross of wood, and 
left there to die? Would } r ou be willing 



104 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

to hang there upon that cross, with nothing 
but vinegar to drink, while the burning fe- 
ver parched your lips, and your bones were 
out of joint? Supposing some one had 
suffered such a death as that for you, that 
he might save you from temporal death, 
do you not think you would love the very 
name of that friend? I am sure you 
w r ould. It seems to me you could not 
help it. Ah, how can } r ou help loving 
this dear Jesus, who suffered more for 
you than any human being ever suffered 
for another. Only think of it, when " he, 
who knew no sin, was made sin for us," 
and was treated as a sinner in our place. 
Then God turned his face from him ; and, 
in agony greater than we can understand, 
he cried: "My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me? " 

Ah, my dear little children, I will tell 



WHY FOKSAKEJNT. 105 

you why he was forsaken. It was because 
our sins were upon him. " He was bruised 
for our iniquities." " The Lord hath laid 
upon him the iniquity of us all." He 
"his own self bare our sins in his own 
bodv on the tree." Now, because he has 
suffered for our sins, God can freely for- 
give us. He will do it the moment you 
trust in him. I should think you would 
hate all the sins that you have ever com- 
mitted, when you remember that it was 
your sin that helped to nail the loving 
Jesus to the cross. 

I will tell you something else which is 
very wonderful, and which God will do 
for you if you come to this Savior and 
trust in him. He will not only forgive 
you all your sins, but he will also change 
your hearts, so that you will love him — ■ 
you will love the precious Savior, and 



106 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

love to do that which is pleasing in his 
sight. You will then find you are walk- 
ing in a new path altogether ; that you 
are turned round from the way that 
leads down to death and hell, and that 
you are now walking in the way to heaven. 
Then you will understand the meaning 
of that word "conversion" For when a 
child is converted, he is turned from the 
error of his ways. 

I have known many dear children and 
youths who have believed in the precious 
Savior. They have seen him bleeding, 
dying on the cross for them, and they 
have given themselves entirely to him. 
They have been drawn by God's Holy 
Spirit to love him and work for him all 
their lives, and to seek to bring others 
to him. And the Holy Spirit has enabled 
these dear children to love God, and helped 



"I HAVE SEEN JESUS." 107 

them to turn right about and to lead new 
lives, and has filled their souls with joy 
and peace, which they never knew before. 
I have seen hundreds of these dear chil- 
dren, with their smiling, happy faces, and 
heard them sing: 

Jesus on the cross I saw, 

Bleeding, dying, all forme; 
I could almost hear him say, 
11 All thy sins are pardoned thee." 

I have seen Jesus, I have seen Jesus, 

I have seen Jesus, 
My Savior on the cross. 

Oh, how can I longer stay? 

Jesus bids me come to him ; 
I will give myself away, 

He will wash away my sin. 

Oft my sins have troubled me, 
Then a cloud was on my brow; 

Now my Savior I can see, 
And I 'm very happy now." 



108 GATHERED LAMBS. 

It was one sentence in a letter from 
one of those happy groups of children in 
America that suggested those simple lines. 
"One evening," she says, "I went to 
church, and tried to listen, when sud- 
denly I saw the loving Jesus on the cross 
looking at me, and I could almost hear 
him say that my sins were forgiven. It 
was almost too good to believe. The next 
evening I could not help singing those 
sweet hymns with the rest of the congre- 
gation." 

I find upon my table a letter from a 
little girl in London; that I am sure will 
interest you. I will let you read a few 
sentences of it. I am sorry I can not 
find the first letter which she wrote me. 
I w r as so much pleased with it, that one 
day I thought I would write to her, and I 
very soon received this answer from her : 



WORKING FOR JESUS. 109 

" I am so pleased to hear from you. I 
am happy to tell you that I still love 
Jesus. Will you pray for me that I may 
do so always? Mr. Noel has had such 
nice children s' meetings for us since 3 r ou 
were here. We all pray for you. / like 
working for Jesus very much. The other 
day I spoke to some little girls about 
Jesus, and they called me ' old mother 
Methodist;' but I don't mind it; for I 
know that Jesus suffered so much for me. 
My dear little sister, who is only four 
years old, loves Jesus. She is always 
singing the nice hymns out of your 'Hymn 
and Tune Book.' I can't tell you how 
happy I am. 

"Your affectionate little friend, .." 

Here are a few sentences from another 
little girl's letter from London : 



110 GATHERED LAMBS. 

"When you first came to our school I 
used to laugh, and try to draw off the at- 
tention of those around me; but now I 
feel my dear Redeemer has washed all my 
sins away. Dear Mr. Noel came to our 
school once since you were here, and told 
us some nice stories about being the serv- 
ants of God and the servants of Satan. I 
am very fond of this text : 'He was wounded 
for our transgressions, Tie was bruised for 
our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace 
was upon him ; and with his stripes we are 
healed. 1 (Isaiah liii: 5.) 

"We have had some nice children's 
meetings since you were here." 

Here is a letter from a little girl only 
ten years of age. I wish you could say 
with her, " I feel so happy." 

" I hope you will excuse the liberty I am 



"I FEEL SO HAPPY." Ill 

taking. A little girl brought me to your 
meeting. I know I love Jesus now. I feel 
very happy since I attended your meet- 
ing. How very kind Jesus was to forgive 
such a sinner as I am. I am ten years 
old." 

Would you not like to be as happy as 
this little child of ten summers ? But 
you never will be truly happy unless, 
like her, you understand how it was that 
Jesus, the Lamb of God, bled and died 
on the cross for us. When this girl saw 
how wicked she had been not to love and 
trust the dear Savior, she was at first 
afraid he would not receive her ; but 
when she seemed to hear him saying to 
her, "Him that cometh unto me I will in 
nowise cast out," then she felt that she 
could and would trust him ; and now, you 



112 GATHERED LAMBS. 

see, she says: "I feel very happy; " and 
so if you will trust in Jesus, you, too, 
will be happy. He is the only one that 
can save a sinful child like you. You 
have been very wicked not to love him ; 
but he will forgive you. 0, then, do not 
delay, but go at once and ask him to re- 
ceive you; and I know he will, for he 
loves little children. It was for them he 
died as well as for older persons. 

When he was on earth, he took them 
up in his arms, and blessed them, and 
said : " Suffer little children to come unto 
me, and forbid them not: for of such is 
the kingdom of heaven." (Luke xvii: 
16.) Do not turn away and say, "It is 
time enough yet." The longer you re- 
fuse to come to this gracious Savior, the 
harder your heart will be. How sweet to 
know him while young, that you may 



SEEK HIM EAELY. 113 

have your whole life to spend in the en- 
joyment of his love. Oh, then, will you 
not now, while you are fresh and young, 
come and give yourselves to the loving- 
Savior, who gave himself up to die that 
dreadful death on the cross for us? 

I have seen a great many children, 
some very young, who have learned to 
know Jesus as their Savior, and their 
happy faces told the joy that w r as in their 
hearts. When a little child or grown 
person trusts in Jesus, the Holy Spirit 
comes into their hearts and enables them 
to bring forth fruit to the glory of God. 
The first firuit we are told of in the Bible 
is "love" and the next is "joy" (See 
Gal. v: 22.) So, if you love Jesus, you 
will be a happy child — happy now and 

happy forever. 
8 



114 GATHERED LAMBS. 



JESUS ON THE CROSS. 

" Christ also hath loved us, and haih given himself for w."- 
Eph.v: 2. 



Here it was the Lord of glory 

At Golgotha died for me ; 
Here I read the wonderous story 

Of his death to set me free. 

Here his hands and feet all bleeding, 
Fast were nailed unto the cross ; 

Here his wounds for me were pleading, 
When my gain was all his loss. 

Here by God he was forsaken, 
When he took the sinner's place; 

For his sake T now am taken 
Into favor under grace. 

Here the sword of justice slew him, 

That I might be justified; 
Praise the Lord, I ever knew him, 

That for me he bled and died. 



THE STRAYED LAMB. 115 

Blessed Jesus, I will love thee, 

Love thee till my latest breath; 
And in heaven I will adore thee, 

When these eyes are closed in death. 



THE STRAYED LAMB. 



" A little lamb, one afternoon 
Had from the fold departed ; 
The tender shepherd missed it soon, 
And sought it broken-hearted. 

" Not all the flock that shared his love, 
Could from the search delay bim ; 
Nbr clouds of midnight darkness move, 
Nor fear of suffering stay him. 

11 But night and day he went his way 
In sorrow till he found it; 
And when he saw it fainting lay 
He clasped his arms around it. 

" And, closely sheltered in his breast, 
From every ill to save it, 
He took it to his home of rest, 
And pitied and forgave it. 



116 GATHERED LAMBS. 

u And thus the Savior will receive 
The little ones who fear him ; 
Their pains remove, their sins forgive, 
And draw them gently near him. 

u Blest while they live ; and when they die, 
When soul and body sever, 
Conduct them to his home on high, 
To dwell with him forever." 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Story for little Christians, to help them to keep " Look- 
ing to Jesus" — "The meetings feed me" — Journey 
through the Forest — Flock of Ducks — Our Shipwreck — 
"Looking only to Jesus, the Crucified One" — Discour- 
aged — Do n't give up — Jesus will receive you back — Re- 
sist the Devil — il Sometimes Satan will tempt me " — Boys 
Letters — Closing Lines — Jesus is our Shepherd. 

•*jl| F now, my dear little friend, you 
^|jj have carefully and with prayer 
read the other chapters of this 
book, then I can but hope that you have 
really learned to love the dear Savior, 
and that you now wish to keep looking un- 
to Mm. I have prayed a great deal that 
all the dear children who shall read 
11 Gathered Lambs " may be led by God's 

(117) 




118 GATHERED LAMBS. 

good Spirit to trust in Jesus with all their 
hearts, and so be saved from many sins 
and sorrows in this world, and saved at 
last in heaven forever. Do you think 
my prayers have been answered in your 
case? Have you come to Jesus? Do 
you ask him every clay to feed your soul, 
just as the sheep in the cold winter look 
to their shepherds every day for their food. 
Are you in the fold? Jesus saj^s: "By 
me, if any man shall enter in, he shall be 
saved, and shall go in and out and find 
pasture." He will feed and take care of 
your body and your soul. The promise 
is : " Trust in the Lord and do good ; so 
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily 
thou shalt be fed." Those whom Jesus 
feeds do not hunger after the forbidden 
vanities of this world. They have joys 
that others know not of. 



"the meetings feed me." 119 

There was a poor "charity scholar" in 
London who, after she was converted, 
used to attend all my meetings, and often 
walked four or five miles day after day to 
get to them. One clay she had to walk 
six miles ; and so she got no dinner. My 
wife asked her if she was not hungry. 
"0, no," said she; "the meetings feed 
me." She meant that she got so much 
good to her soul in them that she had 
rather lose her dinner than the meetings. 

Do n't you think this poor little girl was 
one of Jesus' "Gathered Lambs?" "0, 
yes," do I hear you say? "but I am not 
quite so sure that / am one now. I re- 
member the time when I thought that God, 
for Christ's sake, forgave me all my sins." 
I think you are just like a good many 
dear children I have known. You thought 
at one time that you loved Jesus ; but you 



120 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

often find so much sin in your heart, that 
you are often led to say: ".I fear I am 
not one of Jesus' lambs at all." Your 
sins have troubled you, and seemed to 
press you down, so that you have been 
sometimes quite discouraged, and ready 
to give up trying to look unto Him ? 

Is this your case, do you think? Then 
I have a little story for you, which I think 
will help you to press forward, and to keep 
looking unto Jesus. (Heb. xii : 2.) 

In the summer of 1864 I had been 
preaching clay after day and month after 
month, telling dear little children about 
the precious Savior, till at last I was so 
tired that I felt that I must have a little 
rest; so I determined to take a long jour- 
ney — one hundred and sixty-three miles 
through the forest — from St. Paul to 
Lake Superior. And with a dog, and 



FLOCK OF DUCKS. 121 

gun, and one guide, I set out, and trav- 
eled day after day, camping out at night 
among the wild Indians away in the 
thick woods. We came to a town on the 
borders of the great lake, and thence we 
took a boat for a long voyage on the St. 
Louis River. Sometimes we stopped and 
wandered far off into the wide forests, 
and spent days and nights in fishing and 
hunting. 

At last we turned our way back to 
Superior City; and one day as we were 
sailing along a narrow part of that great 
lake, and were within a few miles of our 
home, we saw off to the right a large 
flock of ducks. The wind was blowing- 
very hard; it was just in the right direc- 
tion to take us to our home. The great 
white caps were all around us, and our 
sails had sent us skimming over the 



122 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

waves. But oh, we wanted those ducks. 
For days we had had nothing to eat ex- 
cept what our guns and fishing-tackle had 
brought us. 

If we had only kept our eye on the har- 
bor we should have been all right; but 
those ducks were too tempting. We tried 
to turn the boat about so as to get them ; 
and in a shorter time than I can tell it, 
over went the boat, and down ive went out of 
sight under the water. 

But we both knew how to swim, and 
quickly we rose to the surface. The boat 
was filled with water. We swam to its 
side and tried to get into it; but our 
weight caused it to sink. We, therefore, 
went behind it and pushed it along as we 
swam. Finally, we came to a shallow 
place, where the water was about up to our 
arms. There we stopped and baled the 



"LOOKING UXTO JESUS." 123 

water out of the boat. We had nothing 
but our hats to do it with ; but with per- 
severance, and after an hour's work in the 
icy cold water, we succeeded. We then 
got into the boat, hoisted our sail, fixed 
our eye on the harbor, bade adieu to the 
ducks that had tempted us, and away we 
went. Ere long we reached our harbor 
in safety, feeling none the better for hav- 
ing been in the cold water for an hour. 
We were glad enough to get on the solid 
ground, where we found dry clothes await- 
ing us. 

Now, my dear little child, I know you 
are wondering why I have told you about 
this shipwreck. I think I can explain it 
to you. Perhaps it was not long ago that 
you had taken for your motto, "Looking 
unto Jesus." You then felt that God, for 
Christ's sake, had forgiven you all your 



124 GATHERED LAMBS. 

sins. Your heart was filled with joy as 
you sang: 

I feel like singing all the time, 

My tears are wiped away ; 

For Jesus is a friend of mine ; 

I '11 serve him every day. 

Singing glory, glory, 
Glory be to God on high. 

"When on the cross my Lord I saw, 

Nailed there by sins of mine, 
Fast fell the burning tears; but now 

I 'm singing all the time. 

When fierce temptations try my heart, 

I '11 sing " Jesus is mine ! J ' 
And so, though tears at times may start, 

I 'm singing all the time. 

That was how you felt then. The Bi- 
ble was precious to you. Every morning 
and evening, and sometimes during the 
day, you were alone with Jesus in prayer. 



WOEKIXG FOE JESUS. 125 

You felt that you could not live without 
communion with him. You often heard 
him saying: "Draw nigh unto God, and 
he will draw nigh unto thee." You felt 
that he was to you the dearest friend on 
earth. You often seemed to see his 
wounded hands, and bleeding brow, and 
pierced side ; and with tearful eyes you 
sometimes exclaimed: "He was wounded 
for my transgressions ; he was bruised for 
my iniquities." 

You felt that nothing would tempt you 
to leave him ; that you would never dis- 
please him ; that your eye would always 
be fixed upon him. The sails of hope 
were catching every breeze, bearing you 
along toward the haven of eternal rest. 
The rudder "conscience " was guiding you 
in the right way, and you could sing " My 
heart is fixed, God ; I will sing and give 



126 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

praise.'' And your prayer, you thought, 
would ever be: "Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do?" You longed to have 
your little friends gaze on his loving, 
smiling face ; you wished them to come to 
Him that their sins might be forgiven. 
You wished all your little friends to have 
just such a "new heart" as you felt you 
had. You loved to sing the sweet hymns 
about Jesus. You never tired of hymn- 
ing those words : 

Looking only to Jesus, the crucified one, 

"Who invites all that mourn, " Will you come, will you 

come? " 
I have left all my sins at the foot of the cross ; 
Sinful pleasures are now to my taste but as dross. 

Oh, how oft have I heard of the Savior who died 

That my fears might be quelled and my tears all be 

dried ; 
But, alas ! my proud heart was too stubborn to yield 
To His kind invitation to come and be healed. 



WANDEEI^G FEOM THE PATH. 127 

But at length God in mercy has led me to see, 
That if I would find safety, to Christ I must flee; 
The avenger of blood I have seen on my track; 
But with Jesus my refuge I'll never turn back. 

Thus for days and weeks you were as 
happy as a lark. But little by little you 
began to neglect secret prayer. Your 
studies and your play took up so much 
of your time, that you sometimes forgot 
to read your Bible. You could not say 
with the Psalmist, "Thy Word have I 
hid in my heart that I might not sin 
against thee." And then Satan tempted 
you, and you had not in your memory an 
"It is written" for him, as Jesus had 
when he was tempted in the wilderness. 
At last some forbidden pleasures caught 
your eye, and you were determined to have 
them — as we were to have those ducks. 
You saw not the danger before you ; you 



128 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

turned away from following Jesus. Almost 
before you knew it you were sinking in the 
waters of despair; you feared you would 
be lost forever; and were ready to give 
up trying to be a Christian. 

Perhaps that is your condition even 
now, while reading this book. Now, what 
are you going to do ? How foolish it would 
have been for us when we found our boat 
full of water, and ourselves half frozen in 
that icy cold Lake Superior, to have folded 
our hands and let the boat go to the bot- 
tom, and said; " We may as well die first 
as last." No, we were not so foolish. We 
baled out the water, spread our sails again, 
fixed our rudder, and, with our eye on the 
harbor, away we went, and landed in safety. 
That is just like what you must do. Bale 
out the waters of sin by repentance and 
faith. Think of how wicked you have 



HE WILL EECEIVE YOU. 129 

been to go after forbidden pleasures, to 
break God's holy laws, to turn your eye 
awav from Jesus, and to be more influ- 
enced by wicked companions tlian by his 
loving words. Ask him to forgive you; 
tell him you are very sorry that, like 
Peter, you have denied him, and followed 
him afar off. He will receive you ; he will 
surely forgive you. His words even now 
to you are: " Return unto me, and I will 
return unto you. I will heal your back- 
slidings, I will love you freely.'' 

If you will thus come to him with sor- 
row for your sins, confessing them, you 
will find him " faithful and just to forgive 
you your gins, and to cleanse you from all 
unrighteousness." Will you not do so, 
even while reading this book? Just now 
shut your eyes, and ask him to forgive 

you, promising him that with God's help 
9 



130 GATHERED LAMBS. 

you will never turn away from him again. 
Even now, while you read and pray, you 
will find the sail of hope is lifted to it's 
place, the winds of heaven are filling it, 
the rudder " conscience" in the right place, 
and that you are being borne swiftly along 
toward the haven of eternal rest. 

When the devil tries to tempt you, if 
you " resist" him he will flee from you; 
for the Bible says : " Resist the devil, and 
he will flee from you." If you keep close 
to the dear Savior, Satan will not harm you. 

I have known hundreds of children in 
Great Britain and America, little children 
under twelve years of age, some as young 
as four or five, who have shown by their 
happy lives that they were among the 
number of Jesus' "gathered lambs," and 
he has given them strength to resist temp- 
tation. 



A LITTLE FOLLOWER. 131 

A friend of mine asked a little boy in 
Dublin, when I was there, if he loved 
Jesus. His face brightened up as he 
answered: "Oh, yes," in a way that 
showed he understood what he said. 

" But why do you love him ? " 

"Because he first loved me," was the 
quick reply. 

This little fellow was verv small; he 
did not appear to be more than five years 
of age. . 

She then asked: "When did you begin 
to love him ? " 

She could not help laughing as the an- 
swer came, in a very decided tone : 

" When I was a little boy." 

I saw him afterward, and talked with 
him, and I could not but believe that for 
some time he had been a true follower of 
Jesus. 



132 GATHERED LAMBS. 

If you are among the number of those 
who have their sins forgiven for Jesus' 
sake, I can tell you that while you have 
many joys and many pleasures that the 
world knows nothing of, at the same time 
you will have some trials and temptations. 
Jesus has said: " Come unto me, all ye 
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest." (Matt, xi : 28.) Yes, he 
takes our heavy burden from us, and he 
gives us a light yoke to wear ; for he says 
in the same place: " Take my yoke upon 
you and learn of me ; for I am meek and 
lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto 
you souls." God has promised that with 
every temptation he will make a way of 
escape for you. (1 Cor. x : 13.) If you, 
my dear children, have given yourselves 
to Jesus, then he will not let you fall ; for 
his promise is : " He will gather the lambs 



god's love for us. 133 

in his bosom." (Isaiah xl: 11.) God, 
who has so loved little children as to give 
his Son to die for them, will surely give 
them all other things they need ; for it is 
written in Romans viii: 32: "He that 
spared not his own Son, but delivered 
him up for us all, how shall he not with 
him also freely give us all things?" You 
know good parents sometimes see it nec- 
essary to punish their children whom they 
love, and so God, as a loving Father, will 
send many things to try you, my little 
Christian friend ; but do not think he 
does not love you because he sometimes 
punishes you; for it is written: "Whom 
the Lord loveth he chasteneth." (Heb. 
xii : 6.) 

I will tell you a nice story about a little 
boy who loved Jesus. One day he had a 
long chapter of trials in his experience ; 



134 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

but he found in every one of them Christ's 
words true: "My grace is sufficient for 
thee." (2 Cor. xii: 9.) 

When little Frank awoke one morn- 
ing, the birds were singing merrily, and 
he said to himself, "I will try and be a 
good boy all day; then I shall be as 
happy as those birds. When night comes 
I shall not have cause to be sorry for hav- 
ing been a wicked boy." But he knew 
that he needed God's help to make him a 
good boy; and as soon as he had dressed 
himself, he knelt down beside his bed, and 
lifted up his heart to God in earnest prayer 
that he would strengthen him to resist 
every temptation. He then rose from 
his knees and took up his shoes to put 
them on; and just as he had got one foot 
fairly in, he felt something sting his toe. 
He quickly pulled it off, and there he 



Frank's teials. 135 

found a great ugly wasp that had made 
his bed during the night in the toe of his 
shoe. The wasp had not finished his 
morning nap, and was a little angry 
when he felt Frank's foot, and so he 
stung him. Frank could not keep the 
tears from his eyes. As he reached out 
his hand for his handkerchief, to wipe 
them away, a gust of wind blew it out of 
the window. That was not the worst of 
it; it was carried into the top of the cherry- 
tree. Some little boys would have got very 
angry, and so perhaps Frank would, too, 
if he had not asked God to make him a 
good boy, and to help him to resist temp- 
tation. So he only laughed, and said to 
himself: "I will run down stairs and 
climb up into the tree and get my hand- 
kerchief before it blows away any further. 
When he £ot down stairs he found his lit- 



136 GATHERED LAMBS. 

tie sister crying, and his mother told him 
that he must hold her until she had fin- 
ished getting breakfast ready. Then he 
had to tell her about the handkerchief, 
and she began to scold him, and called 
him a careless boy. She told him he had 
no business to leave his handkerchief where 
the wind could blow it away. Frank's 
mother was a good woman ; but the little 
baby had been crying during the night, 
and she had not slept much, so she felt a 
little cross, as good people do sometimes. 
After breakfast his mother said: "Frank, 
I want you to take this jug and fetch me 
some milk. Do not be long away; get 
back as quickly as you can, so as not to 
be late at school. 

Away went Frank, and got the milk, 
and started home, when John Small saw 
him, and cried out : 



Frank's teials. 137 

" Hallo ! Frank, where are you going? " 

"Going home with some milk," said 
Frank. 

" Wait a minute," said John. 

He then came up and told him that he 
had seen his teacher round the corner, and 
that he wanted to speak to him for a min- 
ute. 

"Ill hold the jug," said John, " while 
you run and speak to him." 

So he left his jug w r ith John, and ran to 
find his teacher. When he was out of 
sight John drank up all the milk, and 
then shouted : 

" April fool! April fool! Didn't 
you know this was the first of April ? " 
He then set down the jug, and when 
Frank came back he found it empty. 
Poor boy! what could he do ? His mother 
had only given him money enough to get 



138 GATHERED LAMBS. 

one quart. So he had to go and tell his 
mother of his sad mishap. He did not 
get angry, for the Lord answered his 
prayer and helped him to overcome his 
temper. 

Then away he went to school. After 
awhile the teacher called up the class in 
arithmetic. He had told the scholars the 
day before he w r ished them to bring ex- 
amples of their lessons all worked out on 
their slates ; and Frank, who had always 
tried to get his lessons well, had spent 
the evening before in w r orking out his 
examples, and in getting them ready for 
the class the next day. 

When the class was called up he re- 
membered, for the first time, that he had 
left home in such a hurry, that he had 
forgotten his slate, upon which he had 
written the examples. To punish him 



Frank's trials. 139 

for this, and to make him remember the 
next time, the teacher kept him in during 
the play-hour, and made him work out the 
examples again. Frank was very fond of 
play and fun, and it was hard for him to 
be kept in ; but he was very patient. He 
remembered his morning prayer, and so, 
in spite of it all, there was a pleasant smile 
on his face as he took his slate and sat 
down to work out his examples. 

When -he returned home after school, 
he saw his little sister Carrie busily at 
work with a pin picking at the cover of 
his nice new ball. 

"Oh, stop! stop!" said Frank, as he 
flew across the room to take it away from 
her. But she screamed and held it tight, 
and Frank was almost angry. Then he 
thought to himself: "I ought not to be 
angry with my little sister ; she does n't 



140 GATHERED LAMBS. 

know that it is wrong." So he began to 
speak to her kindly, and after a little 
coaxing she gave up the ball, and in a few 
minutes he was out in the yard playing 
with it as if nothing had happened. 

After awhile one of Frank's little friends 
called to ask him to go fishing with him. 
He told him of a good place where a great 
many fine fish had been caught. So off 
Frank started with him, expecting to get 
fish enough for their morning breakfast. 
Down they went to the flowing brook, and 
threw in their hooks, well baited, as if 
they expected that all the fish in the river 
would come for a chance to bite their hooks ; 
but not one came. The fish seemed to un- 
derstand what the boys came for. They 
acted as if they had no notion of being 
caught. Still the boys waited, and waited, 
and waited, without even a nibble. At last 



Frank's trials. 141 

the sun began to sink behind the western 
hills. The birds stopped singing, and the 
dew began to fall. The boys were hungry 
and tired, and without a single fish. They 
tied up their lines, and, with their long fish- 
ing-poles on their shoulders, they wended 
their way home. Yet Frank was good- 
natured about it all. Ah, yes; and the 
secret of it was, he knew that sweet prom- 
ise in Isaiah xxvi : 2 : " Thou wilt keep 
him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed 
on thee, because he trusteth in thee." 

When Frank went to his little room 
for the night, and knelt by his bed, and 
thought of all that had happened during 
the day, he could not help but thank the 
Lord, that, though he had had so many 
crosses, he had not once been angry all 
the day. 

If you, my dear little friends, would be 



142 GATHERED LAMBS. 

as peaceful and happy as little Frank was 
all that day. you must, like him, never 
forget to find some time each morning to 
be alone while reading the Bible and in 
prayer. 

I do not wonder that little children 
who are not Christians often get angry; 
for their hearts are full of sin. They 
know nothing about the love of Jesus. 
They never think of how he is looking 
upon them, and of how his heart is 
grieved when they do wrong. The Bible 
says : " The heart is deceitful above all 
things, and desperately wicked*" (Jer. 
xvii : 9.) But little children who love 
Jesus have no excuse for giving way to 
their temper. Such little children ought 
to show to all around them what a happy 
thing it is to be a Christian; what a 
blessed thing it is to have God for their 



JESUS YOUK FRIEND. 143 

teacher, Jesus their Savior and friend, 
and heaven for their home. 

There are some grown people who are 
slow to believe that children can under- 
stand the way to be saved. Some of 
those people are really Christians them- 
selves, and yet they think that none can 
understand the way of salvation until 
they are fifteen or sixteen years of age. 
Some of these people know very likely 
that you think you have become a Chris- 
tian, and they are watching you every 
day to see whether you act like a follower 
of Jesus. As surely as you give way to 
your temper, or do any thing that is 
wrong — if you neglect your Bible or your 
closet, or speak any unkind words, they 
will, in some way or other, find it out, and 
then they will say: "I do n't believe that 
child was converted. He is just like other 



144 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

children. He wept a little for his sins, 
and prayed a little, and learned some 
new hymns, and then thought he was con- 
verted. But it is all a mistake." 

Now, what I want, my dear* little 
friends, is, that you should prove, by 
your changed lives, that little childeen" 
can be teue Christians. In America 
many little children have been converted; 
and, though not more than nine or ten 
years old, and some much younger, have 
been united to the people of God, and 
been permitted to sit down at the Lord's 
table; and thus have enjoyed the privi- 
lege of showing their love for the Savior. 

I know of a little girl just nine years 
old, who was led by God's Spirit to trust 
in Jesus, and she felt a love for God's 
people such as she never felt before. She 
could say with John, u We know that we 



JOINING THE CHURCH. 145 

have passed from death unto life, because 
we love the brethren." (1 John iii: 14.) 
One day she heard her minister say that 
all those who wished to unite themselves 
with the people of God, and to commem- 
orate the love of Jesus in dying for us, 
would be examined upon a certain day. 
When the time came, she was among the 
number waiting to be examined. The 
officers of the church were rather sur- 
prised to see a little girl among those who 
wished to join the church. They asked 
her a great many questions, and they 
were quite satisfied that she was truly a 
child of God, and so had a right to eat 
of the broken bread, to remind us of how 
Jesus' body was broken for us. Still they 
seemed doubtful about taking her into the 
church. Though Jesus had taken her into 
his loving arms, these office-bearers seemed 
10 



146 GATHERED LAMBS. 

afraid to take her into the church. At 
last the good minister said to her: " You 
are a very little girl, only nine years old; 
how should you feel if we were to advise 
you to wait two or three years till you are 
older, before joining the church ?" She 
burst into tears, and said to my friend, the 
Rev. Dr. Hawley, "I want to obey all 
Christ's commands, and he has said, 
' This do in remembrance of me.' : You 
see that little girl was thinking of Jesus. 
She wished to please her dear Savior; 
though she knew Christians were watch- 
ing her, she thought more of Jesus, who 
saw her all the time. She knew that 
verse in the Bible : " Thou God seest me." 
(Gen. xvi: 13.) And she was anxious 
always to do what was pleasing to God. 

Have you, my little friends, ever thought 
of publicly joining yourselves to the people 



STRIVE TO PLEASE JESUS. 147 

of God ? If you are true Christians it is 
your privilege to do so. I know it will 
please Jesus to have you do this. It will 
encourage other little children who are 
Christians to do the same. You know I 
told you that it was important for you to 
remember that many were watching you ; 
but it is far more important for you to re- 
member that Jesus sees you all the time, 
and to be continually seeking to please him. 

Here are two letters from a boy a few 
miles from St. Paul's, in London. The 
second was written about three months 
after the first. You will see how Jesus 
helps those to cling to him who put their 
trust in him. 

In his first letter he says: 

" Sometimes Satan will tempt me, 
but i think then of my savior's 
words, ' Get thee behind me, Satan.' " 



148 GATHERED LAMBS. 

"Dear Friend — I am happy to say 
that I am happier in the Lord than ever. 
I love him more and more every day. I 
am always thinking about him. ' I feel 
like singing all the time.' Sometimes 
Satan will tempt me in some way or 
other, but I think then of my Savior's 
words, ' Get thee behind me, Satan ; for 
it is written: Thou shalt not tempt the 
Lord thy God ;' and like a coward he flees 
from me. 

" You ask me if Jesus is precious to me. 
How can he otherwise, when I love him 
more than any thing in this world — him 
whose blood was shed for me to wash my 
sins away; him who was spat upon, buf- 
feted, his side pierced, all for me, a poor, 
guilty sinner, that I might be saved from 
the wrath to come? I get nearer and 
nearer to him every day. I am not afraid 



LETTEK FKOM LONDON.- 149 

to die now, because I know I shall go to 
my Savior to live with him forever and 
ever, never to be parted from him. I 
shall go to that home above where there 
is no more pain nor sorrow, but all hap- 
piness and light. 

"I now look back and wonder how I 
could have committed such sins as I have 
done; but I know they are all forgiven, 
and that it is that makes me so happy, 
and makes me praise God more and more. 

I can sing now with all my heart: 

"I love Jesus, hallelujah, 
I love Jesus, yes I do; 
I do love Jesus, he 's my Savior; 
Jesus smiles and loves me too.' 

One day while looking over this letter 
which you have just read, I thought I 
should like to know if the writer was 



150 GATHERED LAMBS. 

still clinging to the dear Savior; and so 
I wrote to him, and I was very glad to 
get a nice letter in reply. I think it will 
interest and encourage you. 

" Dear Mr. Hammond: — You have 
kindly written to me, asking me if I still 
love the dear Savior. I am happy to say 
that I do love him still. I do n't only 
think so, but I know I do. You ask me 
how I found him. The first night you 
came to the hall, after you had done 
speaking, and we had sung ' Come to Je- 
sus/ my sister asked a young man next 
to her if he knew the Savior. He said he 
wished to know him, and burst into tears. 
A young man, coming up at the same 
time, prayed with him. While he was 
praying one of the teachers of the school 
came to me and asked me what was the 



LETTER FROM LONDON. 151 

matter. I told him that I did not know. 
He asked me again ; I gave the same an- 
swer. He entreated me to tell him, and 
asked me about my soul. I burst into 
tears, and told him that I could not tell 
him. I staid to hear no more; I came 
out. 

"My sister asked me when I came out 
what was the matter with me. I told her 
it was because I could not find the Savior. 
She told me how happy she was, and that 
if she was to die to-night she would be 
sure of heaven. When we got home she 
prayed for me. Oh, that prayer ! I shall 
never forget it — imploring Grod to have 
mercy on my soul, to watch over and keep 
me ! I went to my room, feeling miser- 
able about my soul. I had no rest. For 
four days was I like this. 

u 0n Friday I went to the Scotch church. 



152 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

After you had done, Mr. S asked me 

if I could trust the dear Jesus. I told 
him I could not. He prayed for me four 
times. He asked me to pray; I began, 
but could not go on. He finished for me. 
He gave me his address, and told me to 
be sure to write by first post next morn- 
ing to say that I had found the Savior. I 
went home heart-broken, determined to 
do so. I prayed long and earnestly. I 
awoke early the next morning, prayed 
three times, went to sleep again. When 
1" awoke I was happy. There was my 
Savior before my eyes. I can not de- 
scribe my feelings. I was happy. 

" You ask me why I think I am a Chris- 
tian. Because I do n't seem to like the 
things I used to, and like the things I used 
not to like. I feel I love every body ; and 
when I do any thing wrong I feel so sorry 



little ella's lettee. 153 

for it, whereas before I thought no more 
about it. I feel so sorry I never loved 
the dear Jesus before." 

Little Ella, of Cincinnati, who has seen 
but ten summers, says: 

" Jesus has made me a lamb of his 

FLOCK." 

You will like to read her letter. I re- 
ceived more than a hundred such letters 
from the little ones in the " Queen City." 

"Last week as I was attending one of 
your meetings, a Christian came to me 
and talked to me of Jesus, who died to 
save sinners such as I am. Oh, how glad 
am I to say that Jesus has washed my 
sins away, and has made me a lamb of 
his flock. Oh, how I love to hear you 



154 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

speak of Jesus, and love to sing out of 
your 'New Pkaises of Jesus.' Please 
pray for me. 

"From a little girl ten years old. 

"Ella." 

Little Clara, who lives in the same city 
as does Ella, says : 

" i hope we will all come near to 
Jesus, who gave his life for us." 

Read her letter and see if you do n't 
think that she, too, is among the lambs 
"gathered" in the fold of the "Good 
Shepherd." 

January 6, 1870. 

"Dear Mr. Hammond: — I have at- 
tended a great many of your meetings, 



claka's lettek. 155 

and I have found Jesus. I was a great 
sinner, but I think God has forgiven my 
sins. The dear pastor of the Third 
Church lent me a book which you wrote, 
called ' The Child's Guide to Heaven.' 
I was very much interested with it. I 
then wanted to find Jesus, and I did ; and 
now I am happy. I have a dear brother 
and sister that I hope will soon find Jesus. 
I pray for them, and I hope God will an- 
swer my prayers. I hope we will all come 
nearer to Jesus, who gave his life for us, 
and love him more and more every day. 
Please pray for me and all my friends." 

"I LAUGHED AT THEM " — "I BEGAN TO 
THINK I WAS A SINNEE." 

These are the words of a little bov in 
Cincinnati. What a wicked child he 



156 GATHERED LAMBS. 

must have been to "laugh " at those who 
were weeping on account of their sins 
against a good and holy God ! Did you 
ever do such a wicked thing? If so, I 
hope you have long since said with this 
boy, "I began to think I was a sinner." 

"Dear Mr. Hammond: — A few weeks 
ago, when you were preaching in the 
church at the corner of Barr and Mound, 
and as the people were coming out of the 
church I saw some were crying. I laughed 
at them ; but a few weeks ago I went to 
hear you preach on Fourth street, and 
when Mr. Baldwin came around and 
asked me about my soul, I began to think 
I was a sinner, and asked him to pray for 
me. He said he would ; and now I hope 
our prayers have been answered, for I feel 
that I am a Christian." 



"i LOVE TO PKAY." 157 

At some of the children's meetings in 
Cincinnati as many as one hundred and 
sixty used to gather in the young con- 
verts' meeting to sing and pray. When 
the union meetings were held in churches 
where there was no small room for them 
to meet in, I used to call them upon the 
platform and let them sing there, while 
the ministers and Christians were speak- 
ing with the many anxious all over the 
church. 

One evening I went among the happy 
little ones, and said to them : 

" Why did you come up here? " 

" Because we love Jesus," was the reply. 

"Why do you love him? " 

11 Because he first loved us." 

" But why do you think you love him? " 

"Because I love to pray," says one. 

"How many of you can say 'I love to 



158 GATHERED LAMBS. 

pray?'" Every one of them held up 
their hands. 

"Can you give me any other reasons 
why you think you are Christians? " 

There was a momentary stillness which 
was soon broken by a beautiful little girl, 
only six years of age, who said: "Because 
I love to read the Bible." 

" How many of you love to read the 
Bible ? " All hands again were raised. 

"How many of you have wept in these 
meetings on account of your sins?" 
About three-fourths of them raised their 
hands. 

" Will weeping save you ? " 

"No! no!" sounded from all parts of 
the platform. 

"What will?" 

A number answered: "Faith in Christ 
alone will save us." 



STRIVING FOR JESUS. 159 

Among the number upon the platform 
was a little blind girl, who said : " I felt 
I was a great sinner, and wanted a new 
heart." 

Among those on the platform that night 
was a little boy, twelve years of age, who 
wrote me this letter. Read it, and see if 
you do n't think that he is one of Jesus' 
" Gathered Lambs." He says: 

"I WANT TO DO MORE FOR HlM WHO 
HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR ME." 

"Dear Mr. Hammond: — I have given 
my heart to Christ. The first time you 
preached to children nobody spoke to me, 
but on Tuesday a man spoke to me that 
made a deep impression on my mind. I 
think I gave my heart to my Savior then. 
I thought I was converted about seven 
months ago, but I was deceived. I hope 



160 GATHERED LAMBS. 

I am not deceived this time. I feel like 
singing all the time. My heart is lighter 
than it was before I gave my heart to 
Christ. I want to do more for Him who 
has done so much for me. Please pray 
for my companions, that they may find 
Jesus. I have united with the church. 
Please pray for me. 

" ' He bore my sins in his own body on 
the tree.' 

"Your affectionate friend. ." 

"I LOVE TO EEAD God's HOLY BOOK." 

These are the words of a child of ten 
summers, who was also among that happy 
group of children. She says : 

"I love to read 'God's Holy Book,' 
and I think I would be willing to give up 
every thing for his sake. The first night 



"I LOVE TO READ THE BIBLE." 161 

I went to your meeting I cried ; but you 
told me that weeping would not save me, 
but faith in Christ would save me. The 
next night I felt like singing all the time ; 
and ever since I have been happy. Please 
pray for me." 

Little Walter, eight years of age, says : 

"I LOVE TO READ THE BlBLE ; " and SO 

will you, my little friend, if you have 
truly come to Jesus and are now one of 
his "gathered lambs." 

If you were far from home you would 
always love to get good letters from your 
dear father and mother. And should we 
not love to read the letter our heavenly 
Father has written us from heaven ? I 
remember very well how Walter sat and 
wept at the first children's meeting. He 
did not wish to go among the young con- 
11 



162 GATHEEED LAMBS. 

verts unless he felt quite sure he had seen 
how Christ had died for him, and that he 
had truly believed in him. He felt that 
it would be an awful thing to tell a lie. 
He says : 

"■ Cincinnati, December 31st. 

"Deak Me. Hammond: I love Jesus, 
I can not tell when I began to love Jesus. 
I love to read the Bible and pray. I did 
not go up with the children to sing until 
Monday night; for I did not think I loved 
Jesus enough. I am going to work for 
Jesus. Please pray for me, that I may 
be faithful as long as I live. 
" Your little friend, 

" Waltee , 

" Eight years and nine months old." 

I wish you could see "Hattie's " letter. 



hattie's lettee. 163 

She is only jive years old. Walter, whose 
letter you have just read, is her brother. 
She had to print each word of her letter. 
Though it is a short letter, her father told 
me it took her a good while to do it. 

"Deak Mr. -Hammond: I LOVE JE- 
SUS. YOUR FIRST MEETING MADE 
ME VERY HAPPY. EVERY MEET- 
ING MAKES ME HAPPIER AND 
LOVE JESUS MORE. 
« THIS IS FROM 

"YOUR FRIEND, 
"HATTIE JANE 

"BURNHAM, 
"5 YEARS OLD." 

"Lulie" says, "My motto shall 

ALWAYS BE, 'LOOKING UNTO JESUS.' " 

That is a good motto for any one. I 



164 GATHERED LAMBS. 

hope you will take it for yours also. The 
sheep can not follow their shepherd unless 
they often look to him and see which way 
he is leading them. Neither can you fol- 
low Jesus, who " calleth his oivn sheep by 
name, and leadeth them out" unless you 
often look to Him and obey all his words. 
Every day you should say : " Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do ? " 

" Cincinnati, December 31, 1869. 

"Dear Mr. Hammond: I have found 
the dear Savior. He is so precious to 
me. I try to do something for him. I 
do not see how I could have rejected him 
so long. When I try to do good, the 
devil often tries to tempt me not to do so. 
But I pray to Jesus to help me to resist 
him, and I think he does. My motto shall 
always be, ' Looking unto Jesus.' Will 



Willie's letter. 165 

you please pray for me, that I may be a 
good Christian. 

" Your little friend, 

" LULIE , 

" Ten years old." 
Willie says, "I would like to be a 

MISSIONARY, AND TEACH LITTLE CHILDREN 
HOW TO COME TO JESUS." 

You see, he feels that he has been 
"gathered " into the fold. And now, .that 
he sees what a blessed place it is, he wants 
all the lost lambs to come and join him 
there. 

Cincinnati, December 31, 1869. 

Rev. E. P. Hammond : 

"Dear Sir — I have been attending 
some of the morning prayer-meetings and 



166 GATHEKED LAMBS. 

some of the children's meetings and I was 
very much interested in hearing you tell 
about Jesus dying on the cross for my 
sins I felt in my heart that I was a great 
sinner and I can not tell when I first loved 
Jesus I bought one of your little singing- 
books and I love to read the stories and 
sing the little hymns about Jesus I love 
to read the Bible and pray and I would 
like to be a missionary like you to teach 
little children to come to Jesus. Please 
pray for me that I may never forgot to 
love Jesus and pray for my school-mates 
who have not found Jesus. 
"Your friend, 

"Willie , 

"Ten years old." 

You, too, my dear little friend, may all 
your life be as happy as these dear chil- 



POETRY. 167 

dren in Cincinnati, if you will not turn 
from the straight and narrow way, but 
keep " looking unto Jesus, the Author and 
Finisher of our faith," 

You will then often be heard singing 
words like these, which I have just writ- 
ten to the tune of " Jesus Paid it Alb" * 



Jesus, I am happy now, 

Happy, Lord, in thee ; 
I have seen thy bleeding brow, 

And felt it was for me. 

Chorus : 

Thou did'st die for me. 

For me thy blood was spilt 
To save my soul from misery, 

And cleanse me from my guilt. 

Jesus, I to thee would cling 

Every day and hour; 
Then my heart will always sing 

Of thy love and power. 



168 GATHERED LAMBS. 

I would ne'er forget to pray 

Every day to thee ; 
Thou wilt teach me what to say, 

Thou wilt answer me. 

Lord forbid that I should part 

Ever from thy side ; 
Thou with joy wilt fill my heart, 

If I in thee abide. 

Help me tell to all I know 

The story of thy love ; 
May they quickly to thee go. 

And dwell with thee above. 

Now, my dear little reader, we must 
part company. If you have followed my 
advice in this book, and trusted in Jesus, 
we shall meet in heaven. 

A great many children in the places 
where I have been have asked me to an- 
swer their letters. I have always told 
them I could not write to each of them, 
for sometimes I have got more than a 



JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD. 169 

hundred letters in a day. How could I 
answer them all ? I hope that many of 
these dear little ones will read this book, 
and then they will feel that they have a 
long answer to their letters. 

It is my earnest prayer : 

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 
the Lord make his face shine upon thee, 
and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift 
up his countenance upon thee, and give 
thee peace." 

I trust you can all sing as your own ex- 
perience : 

JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD. 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

Leading on his flock 
£o the living waters 

Gushing from the rock. 
And lest foes should injure 

Any little lambs, 
These he gently gathers 

In his loving hands. 



170 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

Nothing need we fear; 
Though the wolves surround us, 

None will venture near ; 
Though we all may often 

Wander from the track, 
Yet he will not suffer 

Any to go back. 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

We are in the fold — 
Carried in his bosom, 

Shielded from the cold. 
Oh, how safely dwelling 

In the Savior's arms, 
Guarded from all danger, 

Kept from all alarms. 

Jesus is our shepherd 

None can e'en be lost, 
If we but consider 

What a price we cost. 
How that he, to save us, 

Left his throne on high, 
Gave himself a ransom 

For the flock, to die. 



JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD. 171 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

We belong to him ; 
He it was redeemed us 

From our guilt and sin. 
Therefore, he will keep us, 

We are his own lambs, 
Purchased with his life-blood 

From his side and hands. 

Jesus is our shepherd ; 

When to him you cry, 
Hear him whisper softly, 

"Fear not, I am nigh." 
When your faith is weakest, 

And you're full of fear, 
Still, Faint-heart, remember 

Jesus standeth near. 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

God's eternal Son ; 
Mighty power is with us, 

Let our foes begone. 
God, who formed the ocean 

And the starry sky, 
When we are in trouble, 

Helps us from on high. 



172 GATHERED LAMBS. 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

Foes can never pluck 
Any little lambkin 

Once within the flock. 
Satan may endeavor 

To draw that lamb away; 
Jesus will not leave it, 

He '11 never let it stray. 

Jesus is our shepherd, 

We in him rejoice; 
Every lamb he calleth 

With his gentle voice. 
Let us sing his praises, 

Pant to love him more. 
Hosanna to our shepherd 

Be now and evermore. 



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